Bronze Coin 285 BCE
$850.00
LARGE BRONZE COIN (40MM.)
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, PTOLEMY II, 285-246 BCE., GAZA
Obverse: Diademed head of Zeus;
Reverse: Eagle standing on a thunderbolt of Zeus. The largest coins ever to circulate in Eretz Yisrael.
VERY FINE
Under the Ptolemies, Egypt minted some extremely thick and heavy bronze coins, such as this ezample. Instead of placing the metal blank for the coin between dies and then striking the top die with a hammer, these monsters were produced using a screw press which brought down thousands of pounds of pressure on the metal. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt for 275 years until the suicide ot Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra) and the last of the Ptolemies.