Hemiobol - Ptolemy III Euergetes

Ptolemy III inherited a kingdom already dominant in the eastern Mediterranean and immediately pushed it further — his Third Syrian War (246–241 BC) drove Ptolemaic forces deep into the Seleucid heartland, briefly reaching as far as Babylonia. Bronze fractional coinage of this reign circulated heavily in Egypt's internal market economy, where grain, oil, and labor transactions demanded small denominations that silver could not practically serve. The Ptolemaic bronze system was fiduciary by design, its value set by royal decree rather than metal content.