Arsinoe II died around 268 BC, yet her brother-husband Ptolemy II continued striking gold coinage in her name for decades afterward — one of the earliest systematic posthumous cult coinages in the Greek world. The mnaieion denomination, worth one mina, had no real circulation function; these were prestige objects, issued to honor the deified queen and distributed at festivals associated with her cult. The sheer weight of gold involved made them more gift than currency.
Svoronos 460 places this among the early Alexandria issues of the series, before production spread to other Ptolemaic mints.
Arsinoe II died around 268 BC, yet her brother-husband Ptolemy II continued striking gold coinage in her name for decades afterward — one of the earliest systematic posthumous cult coinages in the Greek world. The mnaieion denomination, worth one mina, had no real circulation function; these were prestige objects, issued to honor the deified queen and distributed at festivals associated with her cult. The sheer weight of gold involved made them more gift than currency.
Svoronos 460 places this among the early Alexandria issues of the series, before production spread to other Ptolemaic mints.