Origin: Egypt
Circa: 300 BC to 200 BC
Dimensions: 1.675" (4.3cm) depth
Collection: Egyptian Antiquities
Style: Ptolemaic
Medium: Lead
In antiquity, coin dies were usually cut by engravers using a variety of hand tools, such as burins and minuscule chisels. The engraving work was done in the negative so that the imprint left upon the coin blank (called a planchet or flan) was a positive image. On occasion, die engravers would use a ‘hub” to imprint a basic image, often the portrait of the figure on the obverse, and then details would be added by hand afterwards. This item, bearing the face of a Ptolemaic queen (most likely Berenike II, judging by the portrait), may be just that. The image, having been carefully cut by hand to replicate the countenance of the queen as depicted on official statues and representations, would then be imprinted into the metal used for the die. The negative image produced would then be used as the die for all the thousands of imprints of that issue. This item is made from an uncertain metal, probably lead or bronze.This item is exceedingly rare and of great numismatic value, giving us a glimpse of the procedures used by the ancients to produce the currency that touched countless lives, while exchanging hands to pay for many daily debts. The coin produced by the present die, judging by the die’s large size, may have been that of a decadrachm or even a dodecadrachm, both of which were only struck on special occasions. Thus, rare coins such as that may have been used to cancel some very large and significant debts indeed. - (LO.1157)

Antique Coins
Ancient coins