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AMERICAN
NUMISMATIC
MUSEUM
SOCIETY
NOTES
20
THE
AMERICAN
NUMISMATIC
NEW
SOCIETY
YORK
1975
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THE
(Plates
PTOLEMAIC
COINS AND CHRONOLOGY:
DATED SILVER COINAGE OF ALEXANDRIA
Otto Morkholm
II-VI)
INTRODUCTION
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OTTO M0RKHOLM
It should also be noted that we are dealing withthe coinage of Alexandria. While most dates frompapyriand ostraka derivefromvarious
parts of the countryand are quite unevenlydistributed,the chronofromthe coinsconcernsthe capital. This is important
logicalinformation
because otherevidencefromAlexandriais very sparse. Moreover,this
means that we do not have to take any considerabletime lag into account betweena changeof rulerand a new seriesof regnalyears. With
fromthe ignoranceof scribes
the papyri,posthumousdatingsderiving,
in remotevilllagesoftenhave to be considered.3
1ST PERIOD.
155/4-135/4
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10
OTTO M0RKHOLM
134/3-123/2
With the coins dated year 37 and later we are on certain ground
because onlythe reignof PtolemyVIII will accommodatecoins of these
dates. In 132/1the sisterand wifeof PtolemyVIII, CleopatraII, raised
a revolt against her brotherand appears as sole ruler for a couple of
years. Documents fromthe Thebas are dated by her 1st and 2nd
years which correspondto years 39 and 40 of Ptolemy VIII (132/1of the events it is generallyassumedthat
131/0).9 In the reconstruction
the revolt startedin Alexandria and that Ptolemy VIII had to leave
7 Fortheeventsof146/5see WalterOtto,"ZurGeschichte
derZeitdes6. Ptoleder Wissenschaften
Akademie
derBayerischen
, Philos.-hist.
mers,"Abhandlungen
Abt.NewSeriesNo. 11 (Munich,
1934),pp. 128ff.andWalterOttoandHermann
des Ptolemerr
des Niederganges
"ZurGeschichte
elches,"Abhandlungen
Bengtson,
derWissenschaften
Akademie
derBayerischen
Abt.,NewSeriesNo. 17
, Philos.-hist.
See also Skeatpp. 34-5;Samuel
1938),pp. 24-8.(citedOtto-Bengtson).
(Munich,
54-6.
Pestman
144-5;
pp.
pp.
8 Thisappliesespecially
diestudy
tothecoinsdatedtothe30's. Onlya complete
willenableus to arriveat a finalsolution.
9 See Otto-Bengtson
; Samuelp. 146.
pp. 47 ff.
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11
his capital and withdrawto Cyprus during his 39th year of reign.10
Againstthisit shouldbe pointedout that we have coinsfromAlexandria
not only fromyear 39 (Plate II, 7) but also a few specimensfroma
singleobversedie dated year 40 (Plate III, 1). As Cleopatra II introduced her own new dating,these coins can only have been struckby
PtolemyVIII. They show beyondany possibledoubt that he was still
recognizedin AlexandriaafterSept. 25, 131,and that his flightto Cyprus
mustbe placed afterthat date. It is also of some importanceto be able
to show that the revoltof Cleopatra II startedin the countryand that
she gained controlof the capital only at a later date.u
In 131/0PtolemyVIII was already attempting,fromCyprus,to recoverhis kingdom.Alexandria,however,stood firmagainsthis attacks.
No coinsfromits mintshowthe dates 41 and 42. The coinageofPtolemy
VIII was resumedonlyin year 43, Sept. 24, 128 - Sept. 23, 127 (Plate
III, 2), duringwhich the king must have recoveredhis capital.12 A
fewcoins of year 44 are known,13
but then the mintapparentlylay idle
45^48.
throughoutyears
3RD PERIOD.
122/1-89/8
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12
OTTO M0RKHOLM
had accepted her own elder son by Ptolemy VIII, Ptolemy IX Soter,
as co-regent.15The relationshipbetween motherand son soon deteriorated and on two occasions,in 110/9and again in 109/8,the son was
temporarilydeprivedof his rightsand replacedby his youngerbrother,
PtolemyX AlexanderI.16 These eventsmade no impacton the coinage.
In 107 Soter II was finallyexpelled fromAlexandriaand had to take
refugein Cyprus,while his youngerbrothertook his place as co-regent
withthe dominantmother.17The changein governmentwas advertised
by a series of coins with double dates runningfromyear 11=8, 107/6
18
(Plate III, 6) to year 16=13, 102/1(Plate III, 7), thehighernumeral
representingthe regnal year of Cleopatra III, the lower one that of
AlexanderI, who reckonedhis reignfrom114/3when he took the title
of kingin Cyprusand struckcoins theredated by his own regnalyears.
Thus we are not dealing with a retroactivedating, as some scholars
have assumed.19We have neithercoins dated to year 11 alone, nor any
carryingthe double date year 10=7. The conclusionmust be that the
changingof co-regentswas effectedvery close to the beginningof the
EgyptianNew Year, Sept. 19, 107, when Cleopatra III moved fromher
10thto her 11thyear of reign.20
Duringthe joint rule of Cleopatra III and AlexanderI, a singleyear,
14=11 (104/3),saw no coinageat all. We knowof no politicalreasonsfor
thisgap in the coinageand may presumeeconomicand financialfactors.
A simpleexplanationmightbe that the coin productionof the preceding
yearswas so extensivethat fora singleyear no new coinagewas actually
needed. In 102/1Cleopatra III was murderedby AlexanderI, who was
unwillingto remainforeverunderthe strictauthorityof his impetuous
16Forthecircumstances
in117/6
seeOtto-Bengtson
ofthechange
ofreign
pp.112ff.
and
his
both
his
VIII
had
married
niece,
II,
sister,
Cleopatra
Cleopatra
Ptolemy
II.
VI andCleopatra
ofPtolemy
III, daughter
16See Otto-Bengtson
pp. 162-5,174-5.
17Otto-Bengtson
pp. 178ff.
18Svoronos
nos.1727-31.
19Otto-Bengtson
willbe set outin detailby
evidence
p. 172. The numismatic
ofthePaphoshoard.Cf.
in theforthcoming
Nicolaouand Morkholm
publication
II B, (Berlin,
Historiker
dergriechischen
Die Fragmente
alsoPorphyry
in F. Jacoby,
1929),no. 260,F 2 (8).
20Otto-Bengtson
p. 180;Samuelp. 151.
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13
21Otto-Bengtson
p. 134,note3; Skeatp. 36; Samuelp. 152.
22Pestmanp. 71.
23A. E. Samuel,Chronique
1965,pp. 376-85.
d'gypte
M In thelistthediesarenumbered
A standing
foranvilor obverse
separately,
whohave
die,P forpunchor reversedie. My thanksare dueto the curators
intheircharge.
meto publishcoinsfrom
collections
kindly
permitted
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14
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
OTTO M0RKHOLM
A3-P8
A3-P9
A4 - PIO
A4-P11
A5 - P12
A6-P13
14.23 gm.
13.65 gm.
13.31 gm.
13.83 gm.
14.39 gm.
14.22 gm.
ANS.
ANS.
Paris ex Dattari: Svoronos 1687 .
Athens: Svoronos 1687 cc, pl. lvii, 31.
ANS (Plate IV, 8).
British Museum: BMC p. 114, no. 70, pl.
xxviii,8; Svoronos1687 .
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15
82/1-58/7
Afterhis recoveryof the Egyptian thronein 89/8 Soter II ruled undisturbeduntil his death in year 37,81/0,presumablyabout the beginningof March80. From this period only a single coin is known,dated
year 36, 82/1(Plate V, 1). Afterthe break of six fullyears a new portrait style was introducedwhich was carriedover into the next series
of coins with dates fromyear 1 (Plate V, 2) to years 23 (Plate V, 3)
or 24 (Plate V, 4). This seriesbelongsto PtolemyXII Neos Dionysos,
nicknamedAuletes,except that the coins of year 1, which are not uncommon,may as well have been struck by Cleopatra Berenice who
reignedfora littlemorethan six monthsafterthe death of PtolemyIX.
of the documentary
Accordingto the generallyaccepted interpretation
evidencethe Egyptianyear 81/0was almostcompletelyoccupiedby the
reignsof Soter II and CleopatraBerenice.29If the firstyear of Auletes
was of very shortduration,possiblyonly a fewdays, most of the coins
fromyear 1 will actually have been struckby Cleopatra Berenice.
The whole seriesunderdiscussionherewas attributedby Svoronosto
Cleopatra VII, but this is definitelywrong. The series is continuous
except foryear 11 and goes on until at least year 23. Two coins, one
27A. E. Samuel,Chronique
1965,pp.384-5.
d'gypte
28Jacoby,
Die Fragmente
derGriechischen
Historiker
II B (Berlin,1929),no.260,
F 2 (9).
29On theyear81/0see Skeatpp. 36-7;Samuelpp. 153-5;Pestmanpp. 74-7.
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16
OTTO M0RKHOLM
in Athens(Svoronos 1869 a, pl. A, 21) and one in the AmericanNumismatic Society (Plate V, 4) show a date which has been read as L K A
but, followingSvoronos,the last letterof the Athens coin may also be
read as a ratherbadly formedB whilethe coi in New York most probably reads L KA. However this may be, the reign of Cleopatra VII
came to an end withher22nd year and cannot possiblyaccommodatea
seriesof coins continuinguntilyear 23. As pointed out by Regling,the
seriesin questionmust be attributedto PtolemyXII and representshis
coinage in Alexandriadownto 59/8or perhaps58/7.30
5TH PERIOD.
55/4-31/0
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17
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
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18
OTTO M0RKHOLM
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19
Ruler
PtolemyVI
PtolemyVII
PtolemyVIII
Dates
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
1ST PERIOD
Oct. 1, 155 - Sept. 30, 154
Oct. 1, 154 - Sept. 29, 153
Sept. 30, 153 - Sept. 29, 152
Sept. 30, 152 - Sept. 29, 151
Sept. 30, 151 - Sept. 29, 150
Sept. 30, 150 - Sept. 28, 149
Sept. 29, 149 - Sept. 28, 148
Sept. 29, 148 - Sept. 28, 147
Sept. 29, 147 - Sept. 28, 146
36]
1
25j
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
(no coinage)
(no coinage)
34Cambridge
10 (NewYork/Cambridge,
Ancient
1934),pp. 106-11.
History
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20
OTTO M0RKHOLM
Ruler
Regnal Year
Dates
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45-48
2ND PERIOD
Sept. 26, 134 - Sept. 24, 133
Sept. 25, 133 - Sept. 24, 132
Sept. 25, 132 - Sept. 24, 131
Sept. 25, 131 - Sept. 24, 130
Sept. 25, 130 - Sept. 23, 129 (no coinage)
Sept. 24, 129 - Sept. 23, 128J
Sept. 24, 128 - Sept. 23, 127
Sept. 24, 127 - Sept. 23, 126
Sept. 24, 126 - Sept. 22, 122 (no coinage)
PtolemyVIII
49
50
51
52
53
54
3RD PERIOD
Sept. 23, 122 - Sept. 21, 121
Sept. 22, 121 - Sept. 21, 120
Sept. 22, 120 - Sept. 21, 119
Sept. 22, 119 - Sept. 21, 118
Sept. 22, 118 - Sept. 20, 117
Sept. 21, 117 - Sept. 20, 116
lj
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 =
12 =
13 =
14 =
15 =
16 =
13
PtolemyVIII
PtolemyX
8
9
10
11
12
13
(no coinage)
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Regnal Year
PtolemyIX
PtolemyIX
Dates
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
29J
30-35
36
37
Berenice
1
Cleop.
XII
1
Ptolemy
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
21
(no coinage)
4TH PERIOD
Sept. 13, 82 - Sept. 11, 81
Sept. 12, 81 - Sept. 11, 80
Sept. 12,
Sept. 12,
Sept. 12,
Sept. 11,
Sept. 11,
Sept. 11,
Sept. 11,
Sept. 10,
Sept. 10,
Sept. 10,
Sept. 10,
Sept. 9,
Sept. 9,
Sept. 9,
80 - Sept. 11,
79 - Sept. 11,
78 - Sept. 10,
77 - Sept. 10,
76 - Sept. 10,
75 -Sept. 10,
74 - Sept. 9,
73 - Sept. 9,
72 - Sept. 9,
71 - Sept. 9,
70 - Sept. 8,
69 - Sept. 8,
68 - Sept. 8,
67 - Sept. 8,
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
(no coinage)
(no coinage)
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22
OTTO M0RKHOLM
Ruler
Regnal Year
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25-26
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Dates
9,
8,
8,
8,
8,
7,
7,
7,
7,
6,
66 - Sept.
65 - Sept.
64 - Sept.
63 - Sept.
62 - Sept.
61 - Sept.
60 - Sept.
59 - Sept.
58 -Sept.
57 - Sept.
7,
7,
7,
7,
6,
6,
6,
6,
5,
5,
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
55
(?)
(no coinage)
5TH PERIOD
PtolemyXII
27
28
29
30
CleopatraVII
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
6,
6,
5,
5,
55 - Sept.
54 - Sept.
53 - Sept.
52 -Sept.
5,
4,
4,
4,
lj
2
3
4
5
6
54
53 (also portrait
52Jdrachms)
51 .
( '
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
5,
5,
4,
4,
4,
51 - Sept.
50 - Sept.
49 - Sept.
48 - Sept.
47 - Sept.
4,
3,
3,
3,
3,
50
49
48
47
46
7
8
9
10
11
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
4,
3,
3,
3,
3,
46 - Sept.
45 - Sept.
44 - Sept.
43 -Sept.
42 - Sept.
2,
2,
2,
2,
1,
12
13
14
15
16
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
2,
2,
2,
2,
1,
41 - Sept. 1,
40 -Sept. 1,
39 - Sept. 1,
38 - Aug. 31,
37 - Aug. 31,
45
44
43
42
41 (also portrait
drachms)
40
39
38
37
36
CleopatraVII
Caesarion
(no coinage)
(portrait
drachms)
(no coinage)
1J
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Ruler
CleopatraVII
Caesarion
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Dates
Sept. 1,
Sept. 1,
Sept. 1,
Aug. 31
Aug. 31,
Aug. 31,
36 - Aug. 31,
35 - Aug. 31,
34 - Aug. 30,
33 - Aug. 30,
32 - Aug. 30,
31 - Aug. 30,
35
34
33
32
31
30
(no coinage)
7J
II
III
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7
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24
OTTO M0RKHOLM
Plate
IV
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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II
DATED
SILVER
OF ALEXANDRIA
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III
DATED
SILVER
OF ALEXANDRIA
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IV
DATED
SILVER
OF ALEXANDRIA
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DATED
SILVER
OF ALEXANDRIA
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VI
'^H^ES^^BMK^^B
UUEHKQPH
DATED
^kSwB^Ep^^^Kh
Mllfcv^^^KH^^v
HH^H
SILVER
OF ALEXANDRIA
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