Are There Any Egyptian Coins Or Money That Aren't Roman?

There are pre-Ptolemaic coins attributed to Egypt. One such type is illustrated below with a small historical write-up.

Egypt, Athens Imitative, Silver tetradrachm
Obv:â€" Head of Athena right, droopy eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and bent-back palmette, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves.
Rev:â€" Î'ΘΕ, right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square;
Minted in Egypt from . B.C. 420 - 380.
Reference:â€" cf. SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526 (Athens),

The metal did not fill the die completely on the obverse resulting in the rough flat high area near Athena's temple. A test cut on the reverse was filled with pitch in antiquity.

Ex Forvm Ancient Coins. From the Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Collection. Ex CNG. From a small hoard of 5 Athenian and 4 Athenian imitative issues.

Athenian tetradrachms with this droopy eye and bent back palmette have been identified as Egyptian imitative issues because they are most frequently found in Egypt and rarely in Greece.

Early in his reign the Egyptian Pharaoh Hakor, who ruled from 393 to 380 B.C., revolted against his overlord, the Persian King Artaxerxes. In 390 B.C. Hakor joined a tripartite alliance with Athens and King Evagoras of Cyprus. Persian attacks on Egypt in 385 and 383 were repulsed by Egyptian soldiers and Greek mercenaries under the command of the Athenian general Chabrias. Perhaps these coins were struck to pay the general and his Greek mercenaries.



Regards,
Martin

I bought one thinking is was the "sole pharonic issue", Pharaoh Nektanebo II. Some auction houses are still attributing the coin to Nektanebo but that seems to be wishful thinking or marketing. Current scholarship points away from this. It is more likely from Syria and of a much later date.

My coin as attributed by the auction house last year:


PHARONIC KINGS OF EGYPT, Nektanebo II
360-343 BC
AE, 15 mm (4 mm thick), 4.4 gm
Obv: Ram leaping left, head reverted.
Rev: Scales of Ma'at; countermark with helmeted bust right.
Ref: Weiser 1

A more current example of the attribution, copied from the same type of coin recently sold by by CNG:

The Nektanebo Debate

SYRIA, Uncertain. 3rd century AD. Æ (15mm, 2.77 g). Ram leaping left / Scales; three pellets in central field. Butcher, p. 405, 11; Weiser 1 (Nektanebo II of Egypt). VF, dark brown patina, smoothing in fields.

Weiser's attribution of this type to the Egyptian Pharaoh Nektanebo is primarily based on a loose typological similarity to an issue of gold coins that are Egyptian. While this attribution is still followed by some, more recent evidence has almost certainly shown this to be incorrect. All of these bronze coins seem to originate from sources outside of Egypt, particularly the northern Levant, which would not likely be in the circulation pattern of a 4th century BC bronze issue of Egypt (an argument that these may have been struck while Nektanebo was active in Syria during the Satrapal Revolt is completely implausible). Also, with the exception of the Athenian tetradrachm imitations that were likely struck in Egypt for external trade, there was no internal monetized economy that would be necessary to support such a bronze issue. In his book on the coins of Roman Syria, Butcher notes that the style of the leaping ram is very similar to 3rd century AD issues of Antioch, but also notes that it is a common type at Damaskos. Furthermore, Butcher notes that Newell had attributed two of these in the ANS to an uncertain mint in Commagene, although his rationale is unknown. Thus, Butcher attributes these to an uncertain mint in northern Syria in the 3rd century AD.

CNG's description of the same type of coin as recently as last year:

The Sole Pharonic Issue

PHARONIC KINGS of EGYPT. Nektanebo II. 361-343 BC. Æ 15mm (2.80 g, 12h). Ram running left, head reverted / Scales. Weiser 1; Howgego pl. 9, 192. VF, green patina. Extremely rare.

Nekht-her-hebet, or Nektanebo II as he was known to the Greeks, was the nephew of Pharaoh Tachos (Djed-her). Placed in command of the Egyptian army in Syria during the Satrapal Revolt, he turned his troops against his own king and took Egypt by force. In 351-350 BC he repelled a Persian invasion but was driven from his throne in 344-343 BC by a second assault. He fled Egypt, found refuge in Ethiopia, and retained control of Upper Egypt for another few years.

.............

Naturally, the prices have dropped considerably for the type.

What we think we know changes from time to time as more coins are found and further research undertaken.

Wow guys! Thanks for all the help, this has been super informative and helped me a ton, I really love this community, especially the ancient section.

amzazing coin maridunum, like new! Interesting info TIF, dont you feel a little bit 'deceived' after you bought it for quite some money?

The later we go through the Ptolemaic kingdom the more stylised the portrait and eagle become.

Ptolemaic Kingdom, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X Soter, Silver tetradrachm
Obv:â€" Diademed head of Ptolemy I right wearing aegis
Rev:- PTOLEMAIOY BASILEOS, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed, L I (year 10 of Cleopatra's reign) left, PA right;
Minted in Paphos, B.C. 110
Reference:â€" Svoronos 1668, SNG Cop -, Noeske -,

14.258g, 24,1mm, 0o

After the death of Ptolemy VIII in 116 B.C. Cleopatra III ruled jointly with her mother Cleopatra II and her son Ptolemy IX. Cleopatra III expelled Ptolemy IX 110 B.C. and replaced him as co-regent with her second son Ptolemy X. Ptolemy IX regained the throne in 109 but was again replaced in 107 B.C. In 101 B.C., after 6 years of joint rule Ptolemy X had his mother Cleopatra III murdered.

Congratulation to
for the wonderful specimens shown.




Can't compete with the quality provided by the rich people but here is another tetradrachm from the same pair just a few years later:



This one is in fine condition and is double dated:
LIB = Year 12 of Cleopatra III and below 'theta' = Year 9 of Ptolemy X.
Svoronos#1728 / SNG Cop#359 / Sear#7938var

Look on acsearch and search for "anubis". I hope you have deep pockets!