Catalog
Hemiobol - Ptolemy II Alexandria
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 266 BC - 261 BC |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Reverse description | An eagle with wings spread stands in left profile atop a thunderbolt, the canonical reverse type of Ptolemaic bronze coinage. The bird is rendered with detailed feathering across the extended wings and folded tail. The royal legend ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ is disposed in the field, partially visible around the periphery, and a dotted border frames the composition. The thunderbolt beneath the eagle's talons serves as an emblem of divine authority. |
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| Mint | Alexandria |
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| Additional information |
This issue falls within the period of the First Syrian War, when Ptolemy II was financing a sprawling military and diplomatic campaign against the Seleucid Empire while simultaneously maintaining the most expensive court in the Hellenistic world. Bronze coinage from Alexandria in this decade was struck on a closed monetary system — foreign silver could not circulate legally in Egypt without conversion, funneling enormous sums through royal exchange offices and making even small bronze denominations instruments of fiscal control rather than mere convenience.