Catalog
Dichalkon - Ptolemy III Alexandria
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 246 BC - 222 BC |
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| Currency | Attic drachm (circa 323 – 306 BC) |
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| Obverse description | Horned head of Zeus-Ammon in right-facing profile, rendered in the syncretic Ptolemaic tradition combining Greek and Egyptian divine attributes. The deity wears a taenia adorned with a basileion, the royal Egyptian headdress element emblematic of Ptolemaic dynastic iconography. The ram's horn curling before the ear identifies the figure unmistakably as Ammon in his Hellenized form. The portraiture is executed in a bold, rounded style characteristic of early Ptolemaic bronze coinage. No legend appears on the obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (246 BC - 222 BC) |
| Additional information |
Ptolemy III Euergetes inherited a kingdom already at war — he launched the Third Syrian War within months of taking the throne, driving deep into Seleucid territory and reportedly reaching as far as Babylonia before internal revolts in Egypt forced his return. The bronze coinage issued from Alexandria during his reign funded both that campaign and an ambitious building program that included major work at Karnak.
The Svoronos 970 attribution places this piece within a well-documented but thinly spread series. Bronze fractions of this size saw hard use in Egyptian market transactions and survivors with readable surfaces are not routine.