Gold oktadrachm of Ptolemy IV Philopator

Unknown

221–204 BCE · Gold · Greek and Roman Art

head of Ptolemy III, Euergetes/double cornucopiae minted in Alexandria, Egypt Gold and silver were the primary raw materials for Hellenistic coinage of intrinsic value. The Ptolemies had access to abundant gold from the mines in Nubia, but most silver had to be imported to Egypt from farther afield. Consequently, the Ptolemies placed greater importance on gold coinage, producing some of the finest gold issues of Hellenistic times, examples of which you see here.

Artist

Unknown

Date

221–204 BCE

Medium

Gold

Culture

Greek, Ptolemaic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915