Ptolemaic coinage
In terms of art, the coins, which were made of silver, followed the example set by contemporary Greek currencies, with dynastic figures being typically portrayed.
The Ptolemaic coin making process often resulted in a central depression, similar to what can be found on Seleucid coinage.
Egyptian gold stater was the first coin ever minted in ancient Egypt around 360 BC during the reign of pharaoh Teos of the 30th Dynasty.
Succeeding in monetizing the Egyptian society, largely due to efforts of king Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Ptolemaic kingdom flourished.
For most of its history, the kingdom vigorously enforced a policy of a single currency, confiscating foreign coins found on its territory and forcing its dominions to adopt Ptolemaic coinage.
In the rare cases when these dominions were allowed their own currency, such as the Jewish community in Palestine, they still had to observe the Ptolemaic weight.
These policies, along with inflation and increasing difficulty to obtain silver, caused monetary isolation of the Ptolemaic coinage.
After Egypt was annexed into the Roman Empire and the Ptolemaic dynasty ceased to exist, its currency still remained in circulation.
A commonplace symbol of the Ptolemaic dynasty is an eagle standing on a thunderbolt, first adopted by Ptolemy I Soter.
Egyptian rulers had traditionally married their sisters to signify a connection to sacred union between the deities Osiris and Isis.
[2] After the Seleucid Kingdom led by Antiochus III the Great conquered Coele-Syria Ptolemais in Phoenicia (Acre) was still allowed to strike coins using the Phoenician weight.
It is likely that people in southern Asia Minor simply did not have a habit of using coinage in everyday economic transactions.
[12] During Ptolemaic rule, Egypt transformed from a widely currency-free society to a largely monetized one by the course of the third century BC.
Greek rule monetized Egyptian taxation, and this was one of the key reasons for the success of the Ptolemaic state.
A possible reason for this very brief usage of the Rhodian weight in coinage may have resulted from strong commercial ties with the island of Rhodes.
Despite this coincidence, political reasons and trade partnerships are still offering better explanations than a proposed theory that value of silver was in appreciation during Ptolemy I's reign.
It appears that the previous minting authorities were allowed to continue their issues, and there is no evidence that the Egyptian weight system was used.
[2] During the reign of Ptolemy I Soter, the founder of the kingdom, diverse local currencies were allowed to exist.
[2] As early as during Ptolemy I's reign, the closed nature of Ptolemaic monetary system started to form.
[10] In Egypt and Syria, Ptolemy I discontinued local coinage, which had Alexander the Great's image struck in them, after feeling secure in power.
Furthermore, monetary isolation was increased by other factors, like considerable inflation and the use of a unique standard to replace the Attic weight.
[21] After the demise of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, but silver coinage struck by the Ptolemies still continued to circulate.
