Ptolemaic Kingdom; AR Didrachm; Berenike II; Kyrene mint; circa 260-240 BC.
Obv. Diademed and draped bust of Berenike to the right.
Rv. Club, monogram in the left field, trident in the right field - all within a wreath. BAΣIΛIΣΣHΣ - BEPENIKH[Σ] on both sides of club.
Silver, 6.50 g, 21 mm, 5h. SNG COP 429; Svoronos 318.
Grade: Good VF.
An extremely interesting coin that has been the subject of debate among numismatists for years. Attributed to either Berenike I (d. 279 BC), the wife of Ptolemy I, or Berenike II (267-221 BC), the wife of Ptolemy III. It is highly likely that the emission of these didrachms was instigated by Magas (308-253 BC), the king of Cyrenaica, who had been in a long-standing feud with his half-brother, Ptolemy II. The monogram on the presented coin is often interpreted as MAG, suggesting that it indeed relates to Magas. Magas was the son of Berenike I and also the father of Berenike II. When Berenike II was a young girl, she was married off to Demetrius the Fair. However, this unpopular ruler was soon assassinated, and Berenike assumed control over Cyrenaica. Her second marriage to Ptolemy III in 246 BC led to the incorporation of Cyrenaica into Egyptian rule. The coin presented here likely dates from the later years of Magas' life or shortly thereafter when Berenike II played a pivotal role in the political landscape, and relations between Cyrenaica and Egypt were quite amicable.
