Greek Coin Tetradrachm

Inv. No.: c048
Provenance: Ptolemy XIII, Paphos
Date: 54 B.C.,
Weight: 12.53g
 
Obv.: Probably the head of Ptolemy II, diademed and wearing aegis.

Rev.: Eagle standing on thunderbolt, palm under right wing.

With ring attached for use as pendant.

These coins date from the period immediately predating the Roman conquest of Egypt. Despite variations in the head, many numismatists believe them all to be stylised portraits of Ptolemy II. The eagle was sacred to Zeus and, in Egypt, identified with major local deities such as Ammon. The thunderbolt is the commonest attribute of Zeus.

L is the symbol for “year”. It is possibly an abbreviated form of the Greek initial letter of ??“year”. It is the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet. This suggests the coin appeared in the tenth year of Ptolemy XIII’s reign, 54 B.C. Ptolemy was the younger brother and husband of Cleopatra VII. From 51 to 47 B.C. they were co-rulers. Cleopatra subsequently became the lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony in turn.

The coins were all found in a single hoard in Egypt. It seems likely the hoard was buried to save it from being plundered or stolen during the arrival of Caesar’s army and the so-called Alexandrian war.

The museum has two similar coins without pendant rings.

Comparanda:
BMCG, The Ptolemies, Kings of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII, 25.