347, Lot: 287. Estimate $200. Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 17.08 g, 12h). In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Arados mint. Struck circa 320/19-315 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, legs crossed; AP monogram in left field. Price 3426; SNG Saroglos 592 (both attributed to Byblos mint). VF, toned, die break on obverse, scratches and zig-zag pattern in fields on reverse.

The zig-zag pattern cut into the field on the reverse of this coin is known on other examples (see Price 3680a, 3723, 3976d, P182b). In each instance, the pattern is placed in the left field, usually above the arm. The meaning of the pattern is uncertain, but the similarity of its composition across these issues suggests that it was placed on the coins in a deliberate attempt to mark them in a recognized manner. As these all occur on issues from eastern mints, the source for the mark probably is in that region.