PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Arsinöe II Philadelphus (277-270/268 BC). AR decadrachm (36mm, 35.34 gm, 1h). NGC VF 5/5 - 2/5, graffiti. Posthumous issue of Alexandria under Ptolemy II, ca. 249/8-246/5 BC. Veiled head of deified Arsinöe II right, wearing diademed stephane and horn of Ammon, scepter surmounted by lotus over left shoulder; Λ in left field, dotted border / APΣINOHΣ-ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopia bound with fillet, containing pyramidal cakes, pomegranates, and other fruits, with grape cluster hanging from the rim of each horn; dotted border. CPE 329. Svoronos 477. Troxell, Museum Notes 28 (1983), p. 41. Centered strike on a beautifully toned flan, with deeper toning accentuating the details adding to the depth of the image. Ex the John A. Seeger Collection (Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 76, 12 September 2007), lot 3112 The ostentatious display of Egypt's wealth under the Ptolemies was not confined to gold coinage. Ptolemy I and his immediate successors also struck silver coins in larger denominations than any contemporary kingdom or city-state. Along with the vast outpouring of gold in the name of his sister-wife Arsinöe II, Ptolemy II also struck silver decadrachms displaying her veiled portrait backed with the cornucopia, symbolizing Egypt's agricultural abundance. Having died in about 270 BC, Arsinöe is shown as a goddess, with the tip of a ram's horn (symbolic of the god Ammon) poking out from beneath her veil, and the lotus-tipped scepter of the goddess Isis just visible above her head.

HID09801242017

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