PTOLEMY I SILVER TETRADRACHM – DELTA MASTER ISSUE OF ALEXANDRIA EX MONETARIUM FPL OF 1990 – XF GREEK PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM COIN (Inv. 20830)

$1,800.00

20830. EGYPT. PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM. PTOLEMY I, 323-282 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 14.21 g, 26 mm. Issue of Alexandria, ca. 294 BC or shortly thereafter.
Obv. Diademed bust of Ptolemy I right wearing aegis, small Δ behind ear. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing on thunderbolt to left, P above ΠAP monogram in left field.
CPE 168; Svoronos 255; SNG Copenhagen 70-1.
Ex Stack’s 5/2/1995, lot 2092 = ex Credit Suisse Zurich, Monetarium FPL 53, Spring 1990, lot 104.
XF, elegant gray toning, two small unobtrusive banker’s marks on obverse. A piece featuring a remarkable portrait of the king and the miniature Δ often regarded as the signature of an engraver dubbed “the Delta Master.”

This tetradrachm belongs to the new coinage produced by Ptolemy I to celebrate his assumption of the royal title in 305/4 BC. On the obverse he appears wearing the royal diadem, an unambiguous marker of Hellenistic kingship, while the eagle of Zeus is depicted on the reverse. The skillfully executed obverse portrait is notable for the tiny Greek letter delta (Δ) behind the ear, which has been interpreted by both Zervos and Hazzard as the signature of an exceptional die engraver. More recently, however, Catharine Lorber has argued that the long duration over which the cryptic delta appears on Ptolemaic coin dies suggests that it is unlikely to be the signature of an artist. Instead, she suggests that the letter may potentially represent a workshop, a private die contractor, or even the mark of administrative approval.