The New York Sale 2026 Ancient & World

3x

1125 Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt. Arsinoë II Philadelphos (died 270/268 BC). Gold Mnaieion – ‘Oktadrachm’ (27.5mm; 27.79 g). Alexandria, struck under Ptolemy VI, ca. 180-145 BC. Veiled head right with ram’s horn, wearing stéphanos, lotus-tipped scepter in background, large K in left field. Reverse: APΣINoHΣ ΦIΛΛΔEΛΦoY, double cornucopia with grape bunches hanging at its sides, bound with fillet. Svoronos 1242δ; Olivier Group 4, 3430; Hirsch 1819; de Luynes 3583. In NGC holder graded Ch XF ; Strike 5/5; Surface 2/5; edge cuts. Daughter of Ptolemy I Soter and Berenike I, Arsinoë II was married to Lysimachos when she was 15 and he 60. After his death at the Battle of Koroupedion, she married her younger brother, Ptolemy II, bringing with her the skill and experience she had gained at the Thracian court. Now styled Arsinoë Philadelphos, she co-ruled Egypt and her domains, taking on an influential role unprecedented for the dynasty at the time and becoming a model for future Ptolemaic queens. After her death, her devoted husband deified her. She was buried and deified at Mendes, where she had been a priest. Across the breadth of Egypt, all temples were required to have a cult statue of her alongside the sanctuary’s main deity. And separate sanctuaries and temples dedicated to Arsinoë Philadelphos were built throughout Egypt, in Cyprus, Thira (Santorini), Delos and elsewhere, while a portion of the orchard and vineyard tax in each Egyptian nome was marked to fund the local Arsinoë cult. She, indeed, grew to be a much loved and popular goddess. To memorialize her, Ptolemy II also had a series of large value gold and silver coins struck in her name and image. The gold issues came to an end after the accession of Ptolemy III, but later rulers sporadically issued them well into the middle of the Second Century BC. NGC Certification Number 2174824-004

$10,000

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