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BosporusRhomMed.jpg
BOSPORAN KINGDOM, Sauromates IAD 93/4-123/4
AE 48 units (29mm, 10.84 gm, 12h)
Obv: diademed, draped bust of Sauromates left
Rev: nike advancing left, holding wreath, flanked by mark of value M-H, all within wreath
Ref: MacDonald 397/2.



2 commentsTIF
NektaneboMed.jpg
PHARONIC KINGS OF EGYPT, Nektanebo II, 360-343 BCAE
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 few months ago a friend, upon hearing that I was collecting ancient coins, said he would like to have a coin issued by a pharaoh. Hmm. "I don't think there are any", I replied. I hadn't come across any in my whirlwind but voluminous searching, although I hadn't been searching for such a coin.

Turns out there are some. Nektanebo II, the last native pharaoh of Egypt, issued coins in bronze, gold, and perhaps silver. Prior to that, Egypt did produce some coins for the purpose of international trading-- imitations of Athens, Attica tets, for instance-- but Nektanebo appears to be the first pharaoh to issue coins for local use. Maybe.

Per auction house sales information from half a decade ago, it seems these bronzes were extremely rare. I wonder if a small horde was recently found because the prices have fallen and there are currently six specimens in retail e-stores and at least two more were auctioned off recently.

There is not universal agreement regarding the issuer, purpose, and location of circulation of these coins. Sellers tout it as the "sole pharonic issue"-- I'm sure that boosts desirability-- but it may not be accurate. Hope it is though.

CNG, in the description of this coin (one similar to mine),

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. As the last pharaoh, Alexander sought to connect himself with Nektanebo after conquering Egypt, allowing the rumor that he was in fact his son to spread. Alexander’s connection to the pharaoh lasted, and for years the sarcophagus of Nektanebo II, now in the British Museum, was considered to be Alexander’s own.

The traditional attribution of this issue to Nektanebo, however enticing, has been increasingly contested. Finds of the coins have been consistently noted outside of Egypt. Kevin Butcher has placed the bronzes at Antioch circa 1st century BC, where the leaping ram imagery would fit well.


I wanted this coin for several reasons.

First, well… a pharaoh's coin? That's just cool.

Second, it depicts the Scales of Ma'at. Such a device was used in Jitterbug Perfume, a book by Tom Robbins, one of my favorite authors. In it, at a limbo-like way station, the newly dead have their hearts weighed against a feather. The heart must be light as a feather to move on. I was unaware until seeing this coin that the scene was taken directly from Egyptian mythology.

Third, it is for an almost-finished themed collection I've been working on.

Nektanebo II (translated from Egyptian "Nakhthorheb (meryhathor)" or "Nekht-her-hebet" or "Nekht-harhebi" ; alternate spelling Nectanebo), the last native Egyptian pharaoh, part of the 30th dynasty. His 17 year reign spanned from 360 to 343 BC.
Birth name: Nakht-hor-heb (mery-hathor) “Strong is His Lord Horus, Beloved of Hathor”
Throne name: Snedjem-ib-re Setep-en-inhur “Pleasing to the Heart of Re, Chosen of Onuris”


Additional biographic information about Nektanebo II
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nectanebo1.htm

About Ma'at, the Scales of Ma'at, and the weighing of hearts:
http://www.egyptartsite.com/judgement.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat
http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/hall_maat.htm

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