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Svoronos J.N. Ta Nomismata Tou Kratous Ton Ptolemaion (Ptolemaic Coinage) - 1904
Svoronos J.N. Ta Nomismata Tou Kratous Ton Ptolemaion (Ptolemaic Coinage) - 1904
Kratous ton
Ptolemaion
(Ptolemaic Coinage)
Author: J.N.Svoronos
Location: Athens
Translated: Catherine Lorber
Date: 1904
Author: J.N.Svoronos
Location: Athens
Translated: Catherine Lorber
Date: 1904
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
by Catharine C. Lorber
J.N. Svoronos classic work on Ptolemaic coinage, Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion
(Athens, 1904), has long been inaccessible to the majority of numismatists. It is a rare title and commands a daunting price whenever it comes up for auction. Furthermore, it is the only major numismatic reference that has never been made available in reprint despite years of crying need. The
obstacle is its language, modern Greek, in a literary version that is now slightly archaic even in
Greece itself.
In summer of 1991 I began my study of Ptolemaic coinage by making a fast and dirty translation of
the catalogue sections of Svoronos. This document was intended solely for my private use, as the
first step in a process of extensive updating and revision. I dispensed with careful proofreading as unnecessary at this first-draft stage. Other shortcuts included truncating the lists of specimens that followed each catalogue description, substituting Roman letters for the Greek alphabetic numerals that
identified those specimens, and condensing or even dropping discursive notes in the catalogue. As I
produced second and third drafts incorporating more modern scholarship, the initial translation was
set aside to gather dust.
When Ed Waddell told me of his plan to post the Svoronos plates on his web site as a public service, I
thought that my old translation might be a fitting accompaniment. Ed and his staff have invested many
hours correcting typos and other mistakes that caught my eye in a cursory proofing. They have also
inserted dozens of monograms that I neglected to draw into the first draft. If the document proves
useful to numismatists, Ed and his staff deserve much credit for these improvements as well as for
their technical work in publishing it electronicallymonograms, Greek inscriptions, and all.
Though it approaches its centenary, Svoronos remains the preferred reference for Ptolemaic coinage.
The catalogue offers remarkably comprehensive coverage. The new varieties that I have been able to
add amount to no more than 1015% of the total, and most of these are minor variants or missing denominations from a well-documented series. (The most notable new discovery, in no way prefigured
by Svoronos, is the Yehud series of silver fractions with commemorative portraits of Ptolemy I and his
wife Berenice, struck at Jerusalem in the early reign of Ptolemy II.) Indeed, Svoronos cast his nets so
wide that he caught up some coinages that were Ptolemaic in sentiment, but issued by non-Ptolemaic
authorities. Still other entries do not belong at all in a catalogue devoted to the Ptolemies.
Of greater concern, Svoronos cannot always be relied upon for the accuracy of his classifications.
Mint attributions are frequently wrong, reign attributions sometimes so; and bronzes may be wrongly
associated with one another. Svoronos imagined dating systems in the early Ptolemaic coinage of
Alexandria where they did not in fact exist. Appended is a bibliography listing the principal works
where these errors are corrected. A quick perusal of the annotations should alert the user when to be
skeptical.
There is evidence of editorial carelessness throughout Svoronos. This is of scant importance in the
details of the corpus, but becomes a considerable inconvenience with respect to the plates, which do
not necessarily follow the order of the catalogue. A concordance from the plates to the text is included
here to facilitate information retrieval.
The preceding list of caveats is demanded by conscience, but should not be understood as denigrating Svoronos. His was a monumental achievement that stands to this day, merely broidered round the
edges by subsequent scholarship. I hope that opening it to a broader public will stimulate interest in
Ptolemaic coinage and encourage yet deeper study of the series.
Concordance
CONCORDANCE OF SVORONOS PLATES TO CATALOGUE NUMBERS
PLATE Ia
Pl. I, 1 1 a, Athens
Pl. I, 2 2 a, London
Pl. I, 3 3 a, Berlin
Pl. I, 4 4 a, Berlin
Pl. I, 5 5 a, Athens
Pl. I, 6 5 b, Athens
Pl. I, 7 6 a, Athens
Pl. I, 8 9 a, commerce (pre-Ptolemaic, Nektanebo II)
Pl. I, 9 10 a, Athens
Pl. I, 10 11 a, Vienna
Pl. I, 11 12 a, Athens
Pl. I, 12 18 a, Athens
Pl. I, 13 20 a, Athens
Pl. I, 14 21 a, Athens
Pl. I, 15 22 a, Athens
PLATE Ib
Pl. I, 16 23 a, London
Pl. I, 17 24 a, Athens
Pl. I, 18 93 a, Paris
Pl. I, 19 94 a, St. Petersburg
Pl. I, 20 95 a, commerce (non-Ptolemaic, Peloponnesian mint)
Pl. I, 21 95 b, London (non-Ptolemaic, Peloponnesian mint)
Pl. I, 22 25 a, Athens
Pl. I, 23 25 b, Paris
Pl. I, 24 26 a, Paris
Pl. I, 25 27 a, Paris
Pl. I, 26 91 a, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. I, 27 lacking (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. I, 28 73 a, Paris
Pl. I, 29 97 b, London (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 30 97 d, Paris (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 31 98 c, London (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 32 98 a, Berlin (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 33 99 e, Rollin & Feuardent, now Athens (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 34 99 a, Berlin (Seleucid)
Pl. I, 35 100 a, Copenhagen (Seleucid)
PLATE IIa
PLATE IIIa
PLATE IVb
PLATE VIIIb
PLATE IXb
PLATE Xa
PLATE XVIb
PLATE XVIIIb
PLATE XXIIa
PLATE XXIIIb
PLATE XXVa
PLATE XXXa
PLATE XXXIIIb
PLATE XXXIVa
PLATE XXXIVb
PLATE XXXVIa
PLATE XXXVIIIa
PLATE XXXVIIIb
PLATE XLIIa
PLATE XLIIIb
PLATE XLVa
PLATE XLVIIIa
PLATE LVb
PLATE LVIIa
PLATE LIXb
PLATE LXIa
PLATE LXIIIb
SUPPLEMENTARY PLATE Aa
Pl. A, 1 8 a, London
Pl. A, 2 14A, commerce (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 3 41 a, London
Pl. A, 4 47 b, London (barbarous imitation)
Pl. A, 5 50 b, London
Pl. A, 6 52 b, Athens
Pl. A, 7 58 a, OsnabrYck
Pl. A, 8 60 a, Paris
Pl. A, 9 62 b, London
Pl. A, 10 68 a, London
Pl. A, 11 84 a, London (Cos)
Pl. A, 12 88 b, London (Cos)
Pl. A, 13 92A, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 14 92B, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 15 92C, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 16 92D, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 17 93A a, Athens (non-Ptolemaic)
Pl. A, 18 106 a, Dattari
Pl. A, 19 109 a, Dattari
Pl. A, 20 123 a, Dattari
Pl. A, 21 141 a, Athens
Pl. A, 22 156 e, Berlin
Pl. A, 23 157A a, Dattari
Pl. A, 24 167 a, Athens
Pl. A, 25 170A a, Dattari
Pl. A, 26 171 a, Athens (rev. only)
SUPPLEMENTARY PLATE Ab
SUPPLEMENTARY PLATE Ba
SUPPLEMENTARY PLATE _b
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following titles serve to correct erroneous regnal and mint attributions in Svoronos, as well as
other untenable ideas. No attempt has been made to include the many publications which describe
new varieties unknown to Svoronos.
GENERAL
1. Otto Mrkholm and Anne Kromann, SNG Copenhagen, vol. 41: Egypt: The Ptolemies (Copenhagen, 1974). Best general catalogue of Ptolemaic coins currently accessible to most numismatists,
but many regnal and mint attibutions require revision.
2. Otto Mrkholm, Early Hellenistic Coinage (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 6370, 101111. Useful overview
of Ptolemaic coinage to about 200 B.C., especially valuable for reconstructions of the bronze currency systems of Ptolemy II and Ptolemy II.
3. R.A. Hazzard, Ptolemaic Coins: An Introduction for Collectors (Toronto, 1995). Overview of Ptolemaic coinage to end of dynasty, treated as a series of special topics. See also the review by C. Lorber, AJN 78 (199596), pp. 256276.
PTOLEMY I
4. Orestes H. Zervos, The early tetradrachms of Ptolemy I, MN 13 (1967), pp. 115. Chronology of
the earliest tetradrachms of Ptolemy I to about 310 B.C., including Alexandrine, Alexander/Zeus, and
the high-relief Attic-weight Alexander/Athena Promachos types.
5. Brooks Emmons, The overstruck coinage of Ptolemy I, MN 6 (1954), pp. 6983. Overstrikes
prove sequence of different tetradrachm types, demonstrate recall of old coinage.
6. Orestes H. Zervos, The Delta hoard of Ptolemaic Alexanders, MN 21 (1976), pp. 3758. Die
study of the low-relief reduced-weight Alexander/Athena Promachos tetradrachms, with analysis of
engravers and chronological conclusions.
7. G.K. Jenkins, An early Ptolemaic hoard from Phacous, MN 9 (1960), pp. 1737. Overview of silver coinage of entire reign of Ptolemy I, including different types, weight standards, and approximate
dates.
PTOLEMY I EARLY REIGN OF PTOLEMY III
8. Alain Davesne and Georges Le Rider, Gulnar II: Le Trsor de Meydancikkale (Ciicie Trache,
1980) (Paris, 1989), Ch. IV. Les Ptolmes. Mint attibution, metrological analysis, and proposed dating for Ptolemy/eagle tetradrachms to early years of Ptolemy III.
10. A. Davesne, Une contremarque au trident sur certaines monnaies de Ptolme II Philadelphe,
BSFN 42/2 (February 1987), pp. 145149. Trident countermark applied in Cyprus to revalidate
bronzes demonetized by reform of c. 265 B.C.
11. Hyla A. Troxell, Arsinoes non-era, MN 28 (1983), pp. 3570. Corpus of Phoenician and Palestinian gold octadrachms of Arsinoe II to 242/1; stylistic comparison establishes approximate dates for
her Alexandrian gold octadrachms and silver decadrachms, whose obverse letters are shown not to
represent dates as believed by Svoronos.
12. Otto Mrkholm, A group of Ptolemaic coins from Phoenicia and Palestine, INJ 4 (1980), pp. 47.
Reattribution of a small group (including Svor. 701704, 757, 785786, 794, and 821) from year 23 of
Ptolemy II to year 23 of Ptolemy III.
THIRD-CENTURY BRONZE COINS
13. M. Jessop Price, Ch. 11, The Coins, in The Anubieion at Saqqara I (London, 1988), pp. 6676.
Hoard of large bronzes clarifies sequence of bronze emissions of Ptolemy II and III.
14. Edward T. Newell, Ch. V. Hoard of Ptolemaic bronze coins, in Five Greek Bronze Hoards, NNM
68 (New York, 1935), pp. 5167. Large bronzes of Ptolemy II through IV.
15. Veronique van Driessche, A propos du monnayage des Ptolms au IIIe s. av. J.-C. RevArchHistArtLouvain 21 (1988), pp. 6374. Metrology and denominational structure of bronze coinage of
Ptolemy III and IV.
16. Catharine C. Lorber, Large bronzes in third-century Ptolemaic hoards, AJN forthcoming. Sequence of bronze emissions of Ptolemy II through IV; identity of the bronze drachm; cornucopiae
countermarks signal coinage reform under Ptolemy IV.
PTOLEMY IV PTOLEMY VI
17. Otto Mrkholm, The Ptolemaic coins of an uncertain era, NN 197576, pp. 2358. Series of
dated tetradrachms and didrachms imitative of Ptolemaic types attributed to Aradus (but see Hazzard,
Ptolemaic Coins, p. 34 for an alternate interpretation).
18. Otto Mrkholm, The portrait coinage of Ptolemy V. The main series, Essays Thompson, pp.
203214. Coinage minted in Phoenicia and Palestine during Fifth Syrian War.
19. R.A. Hazzard, A review of the Cyprus hoard, 1982, NC forthcoming. Cypriote silver didrachms of
Dionysiac type and minors with royal portraits began under Ptolemy V.
20. Otto Mrkholm and Anne Kromann, The Ptolemaic silver coinage on Cyprus, 192/1164/3 B.C.,
Chiron 14 (1984), pp. 149165. Die study, mostly of dated tetradrachms with mintmarks, but die link
also attaches Svor. 13021305 to Paphos.
21. M. Jessop Price, Appendix J, The Coins, in The Sacred Animal Necropolis at N. Saqqara (London, 1981), pp. 156165. Hoards offer valuable evidence for sequence of bronze emissions of
Ptolemy V.
PTOLEMY VI AND HIS SUCCESSORS
22. Ino Nicolaou and Otto Mrkholm, Paphos I: A Ptolemaic Coin Hoard (Nicosia, 1976). Regnal and
mint attibution of dated tetradrachms of Ptolemy VI through Ptolemy IXX, based on die sequences in
large Cypriote hoard.
23. Otto Mrkholm, The last Ptolemaic silver coinage in Cyprus, Chiron 13 (1983), pp. 6979. Die
study complementing incomplete evidence from the Paphos hoard.
24. Otto Mrkholm, Ptolemaic coins and chronology: The dated silver coinage of Alexandria, MN 20
(1975), pp. 724. Chronology and regnal attribution of five dated series.
25. Henri Seyrig, Syria 27, pp. 4546. Portrait bronzes of Cleopatra dated to 21st Egyptian regnal
year (Svor. 18871889) attributed to Chalcis.
PROVINCIAL COINAGES
26. Otto Mrkholm, Cyrene and Ptolemy I: Some numismatic comments, Chiron 10 (1980), pp.
145159. Coinage of Cyrene under Ophellas, Ptolemaic strategos c. 322314.
27. T. V. Buttrey, Excavations at Cyrene: The Coins from the Demeter Sanctuary (University of Pennsylvania, forthcoming). Excavation coins provide overview of Ptolemaic bronze coinage in Cyrene,
much of which has been misattributed to Cyprus. For a less detailed treatment, see Buttrey, Studies
Grierson, p. 23 n.1.
28. Ino Nicolaou, Paphos II: The Coins from the House of Dionysus (Nicosia, 1990). Excavation coins
help to identify Cypriote issues. Unfortunately, the book is available in only a few major libraries.