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Pentachalkon - Ptolemy I Soter
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 306 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 5.5 g |
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| Obverse description | Diademed head of the deified Alexander III (the Great) in right profile, exhibiting characteristic wavy hair and the horn of Ammon curling from the temple — an intentional iconographic synthesis of Macedonian royal imagery and Egyptian divine kingship. The diadem is tied at the nape of the neck, its ends falling loosely behind. The portrait is executed in a bold, idealized Hellenistic style, with the plain field bearing no legend, underscoring the heroic, quasi-divine status of the effigy. Ptolemy I employed this obverse type as a deliberate act of dynastic legitimization, associating his sovereignty with the prestige and sacred authority of the deified conqueror. |
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| Reverse description | An eagle with wings spread stands in left profile atop a thunderbolt, the canonical reverse type of Ptolemaic coinage emblematic of divine sovereignty and regal power. In the left field, an aplustre (naval stern ornament) and a crested Macedonian helmet appear as accessory symbols, alluding to Ptolemy's military and maritime authority. The Greek legend BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY is disposed in two lines flanking the eagle, naming the issuer as King Ptolemy. The composition is assertive and hierarchically organized, integrating military emblems with dynastic legend in a manner that would serve as the foundational iconographic template for Ptolemaic bronze coinage for subsequent generations. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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