Owner Comments:
"Fine Style" according to NGC. It has some surface marks which they were kind enough not to mention. It is a huge “Oktadrachm” , or mnaion (25mm, 27.76 g, 12h). It is perfectly aligned at 12h. NGC has certified 95 of these in all conditions. Bought Raw from a CNG auction.
Posthumous issue of Ptolemy III Eugertes, issued by his son and successor Ptolemy IV Philopater. Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 219-217 BC, the coin was probably struck at the time of the Fourth Syrian War, as payment to the victorious soldiers of Ptolemy IV's army on June 13, 217 B.C. where he defeated the Seleucid army of Antiochus III at Raphia with an army that consisted partly of native Egyptian soldiers.
Ptolemy IV had these gold coins struck in memory of his father, to commemorate the great victories over the Seleucids in the Third Syrian War. Previous to the battle at Raphia in order to promote victory, the Queen, Arsinoe III, promised two gold minae for each soldier if the Ptolemaic army was successful. Following the victory, as recorded in the Raphia Decree, one-mina coins of this type were given. They were struck from a combination of the treasure captured by Alexander the Great and the fresh supply of gold from the mines of Nubia.
One week later, not that anyone in Syria or Egypt cared, on June 21, 217 B.C., Hannibal destroyed a second Roman army after leading it into a trap in the mist along the wooded shores of Lake Trasimene. If not struck within a week of the Battle at lake Tresimine, this coin's mintage is still contemporaneous with the start of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome, in the years of Hannibal's initial catastrophic victories at the river Trebia, Lake Trasimine, and Cannae (218, 217, 216 B.C.).
This huge coin features a bust of the deified Ptolemy III right, wearing radiate diadem and aegis; trident over left shoulder, middle prong ends in a lotus finial / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, radiate and filleted cornucopia; ΔI below. CPE 888; Svoronos 1117; Olivier & Lorber dies 3/11, 112 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen 196; Noeske 137; Boston MFA 2283; Kraay & Hirmer 803 (same obv. die). Near EF, a couple tiny die breaks and usual light die rust on obverse.
From the PRB Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 93 (22 May 2013), lot 615 (hammer $8000); Triton XV (3 January 2012), lot 1317.
One of the greatest Macedonian rulers of Egypt, Ptolemy III's powerful portrait appears on gold mnaieions struck by his son, Ptolemy IV Philopator, who succeeded him in 221 BC. The great conqueror appears almost bloated; while likely an accurate portrait, his well-fed appearance is also visual shorthand for Egypt's bountiful abundance. Ptolemy III also sports an array of godly attributes, including the rayed crown of Helios, the trident of Poseidon, and the aegis of Zeus. The reverse depicts a cornucopia, again symbolizing the plenty of Egypt. An inscription called the "Canopus Decree," dated 238 BC, takes the form of a letter from the Egyptian priesthood praising Ptolemy III and his wife Berenice as "benefactor gods" for their support of Egyptian religion, as well as for their "good governance" and generosity.
The buying power of one gold mnaieion was enormous and unprecedented, more than $1,100 just in gold at today's price of gold around $1250 per troy ounce (31.14 grams compared to the 27.7 grams in this coin) (as of May 29, 2019). This is almost equivalent to a U.S. gold double eagle (the currency kind, not the modern bullion kind). No other kingdom or empire in the ancient world could produce such large gold coins, and this display of economic clout drew thousands of mercenary soldiers into Egypt's service. This large and powerful army was put to maximum use by the third king of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 BC). Shortly after inheriting the throne of the Pharaohs, he launched a massive invasion of the neighboring Seleucid Kingdom of Syria. Easily crushing all resistance, he even reached Babylon, where he proclaimed himself King of Kings.