I picked up an interesting, small, coin at NYINC. It is one I have watched for a while, and finally bought one. I like it because it has a scale (!), a Ram (my wife likes to knit and you can see fluffy stuff on this one) and because at one time it was considered the first bronze Egyptian coin. “This extremely rare issue of Nektanebo II is probably the earliest bronze coin of Egypt.” Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Sale 14; lot 285; 6/21/07 Current thinking puts the coin elsewhere. More recent CNG auctions have used the following description. 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. After conquering Egypt, Alexander sought to connect himself with Nektanebo, 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. While the attribution to Nektanebo is still followed by most, the scholarly tide seems to be slowly turning. For one, finds of the coins have been noted outside of Egypt. Secondly, the leaping ram imagery is very Antiochene in nature and Kevin Butcher, in Coinage of Roman Syria (2004), assigns them to an uncertain mint in Northern Syria, suggesting the 3rd century AD as possible date. Pardon me if I plead ignorance and call it the first coin from Egypt. My description: PHARAONIC EGYPT. Nektanebo II (ca. 360-ca. 343 BC). Æ Obv - Ram springing left, head reverted, dotted border Rev - Scales, dotted border. 15 mm (or about the thickness,13 mm, of a cast As from the show) 3.33 grams 11 This issue of Nektanebo II is probably the earliest bronze coin of Egypt. Nektanebo, nephew of the pharaoh Teos, revolted against his uncle and became the last native Egyptian pharaoh.
Yeah... half a millennium later and not Egyptian. Still a cool coin though and it fits with your theme . https://www.cointalk.com/threads/this-is-not-a-coin-of-nektanebo-ii.330670/
That one is in great condition. Here is another link https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancient-egyptian-coins.236224/page-3#post-2818428
Yeah, @TIF keeps pickin’ on me... I covered myself “legally” “Alleged” - Egypt Pharaoh Nektanebo II 361-343 BCE Ram Scales Weiser 1 - Butcher 11 uncertain no, Syria
I think it was the first Egyptian bronze stuck by a Pharaoh... A few others believe the same..... PS - I worked for a company that used a picture like the top one in a trade industry ad. I cut out the ad and posted it on my door (the sales group who approved the ad was on my floor). I was asked to and did post the ad in a less viable spot.
I couldn't imagine who would insist on the attribution to Nectanebo despite the mounting evidence... No idea at all.... Since there is zero danger of me ever owning one of those delicious "nefer nebew" gold staters, I have toyed with the idea of getting one of those ~15g Owl imitations ostensibly minted in Egypt before the arrival of Alexander. One of these are also high on my "dream" list... https://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=109928
The earliest monetary object was sold by Numismatica Genevensis not long ago : Their Description Toutankhamon, around 1345-1327 BC JC Silver ingot, Phoenician counter in Lebanon. Punch in the shape of a jug with hieroglyphic inscription: Tutankhamon Regent of Heliopolis of Upper Egypt. The ridge on the top of the ingot shows the mark of the pincer that cut the silver before solidification. H 42mm, L (max) 20mm, Thickness 7mm. 41,55g. Michel Valloggia, Note on two silver ingots of Tutankhamun, Journal of Egyptology 68 (2017-2018), p. 141-152, ingot A. The first monetary form of the history of mankind. Of incomparable historical importance. Superb. From the collection Roger Pereire (deceased in 1968) and a private collection geneva since. For a long time, many historians have wondered how an empire as powerful as that of ancient Egypt could have traded without money. Indeed, the earliest Egyptian coins known for a long time were imitations of Athenian tetradrachms and golden staters of Pharaoh Nektanebo II (361-343 BC), shortly before the conquest of Alexander the Great. Now a text, two centuries and a half later, to the reign of Tutankhamun, relates the misadventures of a certain Ounamon, who was in charge of the purchase of wood for the processional barque of Amon-Re of Thebes. A man of his crew would have fled with a gold vessel weighing five deben, four jugs of silver weighing twenty deben, and a small silver bag of eleven deben. The little sack of money was certainly filled with little ingots. The existence of such ingots was confirmed by the treasure of Tod, which contained twelve silver ingots, currently preserved in the Louvre and the Cairo Museum. The present ingot is distinguished by the presence of a detailed inscription: "Tutankhamon Regent of Heliopolis of Upper Egypt" (that is to say, Thebes). The name of the king is not surrounded by the usual royal cartouche (an oval underlined in one stroke, symbolizing the universality of pharaonic royalty). It is written in a jug-shaped jug or jug. The latter itself has a hieroglyphic meaning: "hnm", which is found in the expression "hnm m hd", meaning "encrusted in silver". Moreover, the very shape of the object is reminiscent of the shape of the hieroglyph meaning "ingot". This form was therefore obviously familiar to the ancient Egyptians. The extreme rarity of the existing copies today is explained in particular by the fact that Egypt did not have any silver mine. This came from exchanges with cities in the Middle East, such as Ugarit, Byblos or Beirut. One can thus think that such objects were reserved for particular or ceremonial purposes. This rare ingot thus constitutes the first monetary object dated in the world.
I just added a really nice example of this type to my collection, too. You will find some variations in the pellet counts and scales. So, there were several dies made for this type. I wasn't able to get a good image. The patina is very, very dark green almost black, and the fields are smoother than what is showing here. Finally, the edges on the reverse are not jagged- that's the software. They are smooth like the obverse at 1-2:20 position..that flat edge. I truly feel this is part of a zodiac series. This is Ares and Libra. They are opposite signs and hold positions of 0-30 degrees and 180-210 degrees on the zodiac wheel. There is another extremely rare type that is smaller and depicts two other signs one on each side- Sagittarius and Capricorn- nothing else. These signs hold the side-by-side positions at 270-degree. I actually got hold of and examine the only known private example a week or so ago! I'm getting older but that really excited me! Many thanks to the owner! 1 of 3. To complete the quadrants, we even have the 90-degree sign- Cancer the crab. You will find this guy at the Carrhae /Harran mint. That location is very interesting because of two things...1) It's a desert area so I find it hard to attribute the crab to an export object or city is known for attribution. 2) Carrhae was the ancient center for astrology and astronomy! So the evidence is piling up against Egyptian origins. It's going to be Southern Asia Minor or Northern Levant.
