PTOLEMAIC KINGS OF EGYPT. Arsinoe II, wife of Ptolemy II, died 270 BC. Mnaieion or Oktadrachm (Gold, 27 mm, 27.81 g, 12 h), Ioppe, struck under Ptolemy II, RY 33 = 253/2. Veiled head of Arsinoe II to right, wearing diademed stephane and ram's horn and with a lotus-tipped scepter over her left shoulder. Rev. ΑΡΣΙΝΟΗΣ ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ Double cornucopiae bound with fillet and containing pyramidal cakes, pomegranate, and other fruits, and with two grape bunches hanging at sides; across lower field, ΛΓ (date) and monogram of IOΠ. CPE 667 (this coin cited and illustrated on pl. 51). SNG Copenhagen -. Svoronos -. Troxell, Arsinoe, Group 3, -. Extremely rare. A few faint marks and with minor die rust on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine.



The royal Ptolemaic mint at Ioppe opened in 261/0 BCE. The regnal-year dates show that Ioppe struck tetradrachms annually, while extremely rare mnaieia were issued in the 25th and 33rd regnal years of Ptolemy II, that is, in 261/0 and, as in the case of our piece, 253/2 BCE. Lorber points out that the royal mints of Ake-Ptolemais, Ioppe, Gaza, Tyre, and Sidon sometimes employed the same control marks, suggesting a degree of coordination between the different mints. Indeed, the obverse die of our mnaieion was also used at Tyre; cf. Lorber, p. 117. Presumably, the very small size of these issues did not justify the cutting of separate dies, so that dies – and probably mint personnel as well – were sometimes transferred between mints.