1087874 | GREEK. PTOLEMAIC KINGS OF EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. (Pharaoh, 305/4-282 BC). Struck circa 290-285 BC. AR Tetradrachm. NGC AU✭ (About Uncirculated ✭) Strike 5/5 Surface 5/5. Alexandria. 14.301087863...1087876gm. Diademed bust right, wearing aegis, small Δ behind ear / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ПTOΛEMAIOY. Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, P above ПAP monogram inner left field. Svoronos 255; SNG Copenhagen 70.

Obverse die signed by the artist Δ. H.A. Hazard, writing in "Ptolemaic Coins" (1985), noted the appearance of a tiny letter Δ on certain finely-engraved tetradrachm dies issued from the Satrapal period of Ptolemy I (323-305 BC) to the early reign of his son and successor, Ptolemy II (281-246 BC). He believed this to be the signature of a particular engraver of exceptional talent, whose body of work set him apart from other numismatic artists of Egypt and elsewhere. According to Hazard, "no subsequent craftsman at the Alexandrine mint ever showed the same mastery of design and detail as Delta, and, in the opinion of this writer, he was the greatest engraver of the Hellenistic Age. So proud was he of his productions that he signed his initial Δ ... in the small space behind King Ptolemy's ear. Pyrrhus of Epirus and Seleucus of Syria, both residents of Ptolemy's court, later used Delta's designs for their own coinages; other Greek craftsmen also admired Delta and copied his designs at Ecbatana, Syracuse, Antioch, and other mints over the next five hundred years.''.

Ex Spink Auction 325 (21 June 2016) Lot 51.


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