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Mnaeion - Ptolemy V
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 202 BC - 200 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 26 mm |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of Ptolemy V facing right, wearing a beaded diadem tied through the hair with flowing locks rendered in fine Hellenistic style; a pearl earring is visible at the ear, and the royal aegis is partially visible at the lower left shoulder. The bust is rendered with accomplished portraiture typical of the Alexandrian mint, conveying both youth and regal authority. The field is plain, and the design is enclosed within a dotted border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Eagle standing left upon a thunderbolt, wings closed, rendered in the bold Ptolemaic tradition; in the left field, the control letter Θ appears above, and between the eagle's legs the monogram NI is placed as a secondary control mark. The royal legend is divided across the field in two columns flanking the eagle. The composition follows the established reverse type of the Ptolemaic gold coinage, combining divine symbolism with dynastic identity. |
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| Additional information |
The mnaeion — effectively a ten-drachm piece — was a prestige denomination, not a coin that moved through markets buying grain. Ptolemy V inherited the throne as a child of five following the deaths of both parents in circumstances ancient sources treat with deliberate vagueness, and his early reign saw Egypt pressured simultaneously by Antiochus III from the east and Philip V of Macedon from the north. The great priestly decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC, recorded on the Rosetta Stone, was partly a political instrument to shore up his legitimacy with the Egyptian clergy.
Issues of this weight class are scarce in any condition. The Lockett collection reference alone signals how rarely these appear outside major institutional sales.