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Ptolemaic Bronze Reverse Left Field Symbols

All content, design, and descriptions are (C)2006-10 by Daniel Wolf
All rights reserved worldwide. No copying, use, or distribution without written permission. Many thanks to additional photo contributors who are credited as shown.

This page shows many of the types of field decorations or symbols found on Ptolemaic Bronze coins with the best explanation available for their meaning. The field symbols can be very important in learning to distinguish and identify different types and make correct attributions. The symbols described on this page are all located to the left of the standing eagle (or eagles). Occasionally this field is empty or blank but most coins do have a symbol which often indicates the mint location. In the photos on this page we've homed in on the symbol itself but you can usually see part of the inscription to the left and part of the eagle to the right of the symbol.

Cornucopia Oriented Right - Alexandria Mint The most common left field decoration or mint mark on Ptolemaic Bronze coins is the cornucopia which ordinarily indicates the Alexandria Mint. Most cornucopiaea are further decorated with filets, little streamers that are tied together and fall down from the top of the cornucopia's horn. There are usually 2 or 3 filets and the meaning of the number of filets isn't clearly understood. In most cases the orientation is as shown in these examples, with the cornucopia head and filets to the right of the tail. Single cornucopia symbols in the left field only occur on coins of Ptolemy III and later.
PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection

Cornucopia Oriented Left - Alexandria Mint A few types have the cornucopia orientation reversed with the head and filets to the left of the tail.
PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection

Double Cornucopiae A few coins show two cornucopia tied together at the tail. These sometimes have filets (streamers) and sometimes not. The rendering of the dual cornucopiaea types can sometimes be crude and on worn coins it may be hard to tell if there are two cornucopiaea or only one. Sometimes you can tell it's a double cornucopia on a worn example by observing that the horn (top) is simply far too fat to be a single one (see 3rd example from left, below). There are also certain types that always have a double cornucopiae symbol and simply do not occur with a single one instead and that is occasionally the only clue on a difficult example. Double cornucopiae left field symbol designs only occur on coins of Ptolemy II and later. Some of the double-cornucopiae of Ptolemy II are thought to be minted in Sidon.
PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	Photo Courtesy CNG

Shield Types An extensive series of coins of Ptolemy II occur with an oval shield in the left field. These may occur with the shield alone (Shield Only type), a letter SIGMA over the shield, or with both a letter SIGMA over the shield and a complex geometric monogram under the shield (usually a combination of CHI, ALPHA, and RHO as a single symbol). In the photo examples below, you'll see all three types. The latter two may be referred to as 'Shield with Monograms' types.
Photo Courtesy CNG	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection

Club Symbol - Tyre Mint An extended denomination series of Ptolemy III occurs with a distinct club symbol in the left field. There are also a few coins of Ptolemy IV with the same symbol types (identifiable as Ptolemy IV by the leg monograms).There are also some coins of Ptolemy II with the club symbol in the same position, usually with a different style of presentation. There are also club-symbol coins that have additional symbols and for those, see below. Also shown in these photos of 'club-only' coins is a club symbol type accompanied by an ivy leaf countermark. All of the club-only symbol coins are thought to have been minted in Tyre. Even on worn examples it is usually easy to identify the club symbol.
Photo Courtesy CNG	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	Photo Courtesy CNG

Double Cornucopiae With Club - Tyre These types of Ptolemy II show the club in the left field along with a double cornucopiae. Svoronos attributed these to Gaza but more modern interpretations place these coins at Tyre along with the later types of Ptolemy III and Ptolemy IV with only the club in the left field. Note the placement of the club in two of these examples (leftmost photos) - they have the same Svoronos type number but the club is 'inside' on one and 'outside' on the other.
PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	PtolemAE Collection	Photo Courtesy CNG

Circled PI-TAU Monogram - Ptolemais Mint A few coins shown a distinct mintmark of Ptolemais which is a circle enclosing a geometric symbol that combines the letters PI and TAU. The symbol can also resemble a letter 'M' but if you look closely you see that the top is a flat horizontal line and the central line extending blow is shorter than the other two (that's the TAU). It also resembles a letter 'E' (EPSILON) rotated 90 degrees to the right. The enclosing circle is the key to identifying this as a Ptolemais symbol.
Photo Courtesy CNG

Harpa Symbol - Joppa (Jaffa) Mint Three small coins of Ptolemy III are known that show a harpa (harpoon) symbol in the left field. Svoronos attributed them to Ptolemy II but more modern interpretations attribute these to Ptolemy III.
Photo Courtesy CNG		Photo Courtesy CNG

Lotus Flower A number of coins show a lotus flower in the left field, occasionally with additional monograms (see rightmost photo). The lotus flower depiction is quite variable as you can see in these photos. The lotus symbol coins are all likely to be Ptolemy III or IV and later.
Photo Courtesy CNG	PtolemAE Collection

Helmet Symbol A very few types show a distinctive Corinthian style crested helmet in the left field. Svoronos attributes these to Egypt but more modern evidence indicates otherwise.
Photo Courtesy Mikineos	Photo Courtesy CNG

Tripod and Trident symbols - Asia Minor Mints The distinct tripod mark (left photo below) is now attributed to a mint in Asia Minor as a number of these have been found in that area and not (as Svoronos attributed) in Gaza. The Trident symbol (right photo below) may also be an Asia Minor mint location and not Beirut (as attributed by Svoronos). These symbols only occur on a few coins of smaller sizes, all with Zeus Ammon obverses, now dated to Ptolemy III.
PtolemAE Collection

More Type Illustrations Will Be Added Soon:

Alphabetic and Symbolic Monograms Only
Palm Leaf
Monograms with Palm Leaf
Isis Headdress
Aplustre
Thunderbolt
Star
Monograms with Star
Cornucopia Countermark
Anchor Countermark

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