Obverse: Veiled and diademed bust of Berenike II. Reverse: Cornucopia bound with fillet between caps of the Dioskouroi. Ptolemy III Euergetes (Benefactor) carried on successful military campaigns that brought new wealth into Egypt, resulting in the minting of large silver coins and other gold denominations and a return to the Attic weight standard, which had not been used in Egypt for over sixty years. The most common type on the obverse of the coins was a portrait of his wife, Berenike II of Kyrene. Berenike's marriage to her cousin was politically significant, since it had brought Kyrene, which had been lost by Ptolemy II, back under Egyptian control. Upon the death of her husband, she became joint ruler with her son, Ptolemy IV, who had her murdered. Coin portraits of queens were common in Hellenistic Egypt, where women had higher status than elsewhere in the ancient world and were often influential. Berenike is depicted with the royal diadem and a veil. The fruit-filled cornucopia is a symbol of abundance and prosperity often depicted on the coins of agricultural Egypt. Origin: Egypt Circa: 246 BC to 221 BC Collection: Greek Coins Style: Ptolemaic Medium: Silver

Antique Coins
Ancient coins