{Sentinel}
Silver Member
Last week, in anticipation of my friend Rob a.k.a. RTDE 3 coming down to dig with me, I went out to reconnoiter some sites for us to hit during the weekend. I decided to check out a site that I have permission to hunt but that I hadn't been to since last summer. This was the site that produced alot of nice finds for me including the King Rama V Copper and the last time I had been there was probably last August when I took my friend and diggin' partner Jeff a.k.a. UMRGolf. I had permission to hit both the front and back yards but since the back was very grown up we never really were able to get back into it. Well when I arrived there I noticed that the back was cut enough to where I could swing a coil. The back yard isn't very big but I figured I'd swing on it for a few minutes to see if anything popped up. I turned my machine on and swung it a couple times and right away I got a quarter signal that turned out to be a 1934 Silver Washington Quarter. That was a nice way to start out, wasn't the Civil War or Colonial relics that I was looking for but it was Silver! After that I put it away and took a couple steps swinging away and then I got a very SOLID 78-80 signal on my T-2. Many times signals that hit in that range are pennies but this signal sounded much bigger than a penny and fairly deep so I proceeded to dig down and down and down to about 10-11 inches and then I scanned the loose dirt in the hole and it sounded like whatever it was had dislodged and was somewhere in the bottom of the hole. I took my Pro-pointer out (and about this time James Bibb calls me on the phone) and stuck it down in there and got a solid signal, reached down and popped out this thick (what I thought was) Copper disc. This object was VERY THICK eyeballing it, it looked about 4mm or 5mm thick! And I'm describing it to James who's on the phone with me at this time and I see a side profile Bust of what looks to be a Greco-Roman Lady?!? And I'm thinking "What the Heck IS THIS?" I flipped it over and what was weird was the reverse side's diameter was bigger than the front side. 
What I saw when I brushed some of the loose dirt away was an Archaic-looking Eagle perched with drooped wings and GREEK LETTERS flanking it!! 
I wasn't quite sure if it was a coin or what because of its thickness but I remembered that I dug that Rare King Rama Copper there last year so I quickly wrapped it up so that it wouldn't get damaged. I was describing it to James and he sounded pretty blown away about it as well.
When I got it home that night, I looked up Ancient Coins and I found a website called Tantalus where I got a perfect match as far as the way the coin looked, telling me that it was indeed an Ancient Greek coin. Well it took me a couple more hours before I I.D.ed the exact coin it was and when I did I really could NOT believe how old that object was that was sitting in my Hands, words just couldn't explain it...I had a 2100+ year old coin sitting there in the palm of my hand and it was really just a shock. You NEVER EVER expect to find something like this in the United States of America but we knew it was possible when Jeff dug a Constantine Roman coin the year before and we were blown away by that.
I believe the man who lived there in the 1800's must've been a collector of rare and ancient coins, I just find it too much of a coincidence that I found this coin and the rare King Rama V Copper in the same yard. One things for certain, this is and probably FOREVER more will be (unless I go to Europe someday to dig), my oldest find. It might not be the most valuable find I've ever made (worth $250-$350 in this condition per an ancient coins professional who looked at it) but its definitely a personal Banner and the find of a lifetime for me! Rob and James and Jeff have been after me to get it up but with the passing of my Grandfather, the past few days were hectic to say the least...but finally, here it is.
The coin is a Bronze Greek/Egyptian Coin minted under the reign of Ptolemy V, Epiphanes - King of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt 204-180 B.C.
Ptolemy V, Epiphanes was Son of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III, Ptolemy V was only five years old when his father died. For many years the government was in the hands of unscrupulous and incompetent ministers, and much of the Egyptian overseas empire was lost at this time. The young king was crowned at Memphis in 197 B.C. The famous Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was inscribed at the time of this coronation. In 193 B.C. Ptolemy married Cleopatra I, daughter of Antiochus III of Syria, and thirteen years later he died at the age of twenty-nine. In 187 BC, Cleopatra I was appointed vizier and upon her husband's death in 180 BC, she ruled on behalf of her young son, Ptolemy VI. She was the first Ptolemaic queen to be a sole ruler of Egypt. This can be concluded from date formulas on the papyri written in the years from 179 BC to 176 BC, where Cleopatra I is called Thea Epiphanes and her name is written before that of her son. She also minted her own coins, which also bear her name before that of her son.
Historical Context: This coin was minted by the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt around 190 BC. The obverse (front) of this coin is CLEOPATRA the First as Isis (Cleopatra's face). Isis was an Egyptian deity, the wife of Orisis, the GOD of the DEAD. Cleopatra I was the daughther of Antiochos III of Syria became the wife of Ptolemy V of Egypt. She bore two boys and a girl ( Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VII, and Cleopatra II). The Ptolemaic empire was founded by Ptolemy I after the death of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy I was a boyhood friend of Alexander and his most trusted general. After Ptolemy successfully completed the Persian war, Alexander granted him the area of Egypt . He founded an empire that lasted almost 300 years. The empire ended with Cleopatra VII, the Queen of the Nile . (http://www.museumsurplus.com/EgyptianCoinsPAGE1.htm)
At first I thought that it had been laying against something Iron, but as you research these coins you'll notice that many have a small hole on either side of the face (look at the image of the coin at top of post) and mine still has remnants of iron filling the hole which I believe may be responsible for the iron stain on the reverse.
Cleopatra the First as Isis 204-180 B.C.
What I saw when I brushed some of the loose dirt away was an Archaic-looking Eagle perched with drooped wings and GREEK LETTERS flanking it!! I wasn't quite sure if it was a coin or what because of its thickness but I remembered that I dug that Rare King Rama Copper there last year so I quickly wrapped it up so that it wouldn't get damaged. I was describing it to James and he sounded pretty blown away about it as well. When I got it home that night, I looked up Ancient Coins and I found a website called Tantalus where I got a perfect match as far as the way the coin looked, telling me that it was indeed an Ancient Greek coin. Well it took me a couple more hours before I I.D.ed the exact coin it was and when I did I really could NOT believe how old that object was that was sitting in my Hands, words just couldn't explain it...I had a 2100+ year old coin sitting there in the palm of my hand and it was really just a shock. You NEVER EVER expect to find something like this in the United States of America but we knew it was possible when Jeff dug a Constantine Roman coin the year before and we were blown away by that.
I believe the man who lived there in the 1800's must've been a collector of rare and ancient coins, I just find it too much of a coincidence that I found this coin and the rare King Rama V Copper in the same yard. One things for certain, this is and probably FOREVER more will be (unless I go to Europe someday to dig), my oldest find. It might not be the most valuable find I've ever made (worth $250-$350 in this condition per an ancient coins professional who looked at it) but its definitely a personal Banner and the find of a lifetime for me! Rob and James and Jeff have been after me to get it up but with the passing of my Grandfather, the past few days were hectic to say the least...but finally, here it is.
The coin is a Bronze Greek/Egyptian Coin minted under the reign of Ptolemy V, Epiphanes - King of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt 204-180 B.C.
Ptolemy V, Epiphanes was Son of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III, Ptolemy V was only five years old when his father died. For many years the government was in the hands of unscrupulous and incompetent ministers, and much of the Egyptian overseas empire was lost at this time. The young king was crowned at Memphis in 197 B.C. The famous Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was inscribed at the time of this coronation. In 193 B.C. Ptolemy married Cleopatra I, daughter of Antiochus III of Syria, and thirteen years later he died at the age of twenty-nine. In 187 BC, Cleopatra I was appointed vizier and upon her husband's death in 180 BC, she ruled on behalf of her young son, Ptolemy VI. She was the first Ptolemaic queen to be a sole ruler of Egypt. This can be concluded from date formulas on the papyri written in the years from 179 BC to 176 BC, where Cleopatra I is called Thea Epiphanes and her name is written before that of her son. She also minted her own coins, which also bear her name before that of her son.
(not my coin)
Ptolemy V, Epiphanes - King of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt 204-180 B.C.
Bronze 26mm (18.15 grams) Struck circa 193-180 B.C.
Reference: Sear 7879; Svoronos 1233; B.M.C. 6.93,67-8
Head of Cleopatra I, as Isis right; hair in formal curls and wreathed with corn.
ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ - Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings open.
Bronze 26mm (18.15 grams) Struck circa 193-180 B.C.
Reference: Sear 7879; Svoronos 1233; B.M.C. 6.93,67-8
Head of Cleopatra I, as Isis right; hair in formal curls and wreathed with corn.
ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ - Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings open.
Historical Context: This coin was minted by the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt around 190 BC. The obverse (front) of this coin is CLEOPATRA the First as Isis (Cleopatra's face). Isis was an Egyptian deity, the wife of Orisis, the GOD of the DEAD. Cleopatra I was the daughther of Antiochos III of Syria became the wife of Ptolemy V of Egypt. She bore two boys and a girl ( Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VII, and Cleopatra II). The Ptolemaic empire was founded by Ptolemy I after the death of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy I was a boyhood friend of Alexander and his most trusted general. After Ptolemy successfully completed the Persian war, Alexander granted him the area of Egypt . He founded an empire that lasted almost 300 years. The empire ended with Cleopatra VII, the Queen of the Nile . (http://www.museumsurplus.com/EgyptianCoinsPAGE1.htm)
This was as I saw it when I first removed the dirt from the hole:
UNCLEANED:
Once I got it home, even through the heavy dirt patina, I could see the images fairly well:
At first I thought that it had been laying against something Iron, but as you research these coins you'll notice that many have a small hole on either side of the face (look at the image of the coin at top of post) and mine still has remnants of iron filling the hole which I believe may be responsible for the iron stain on the reverse.
CLEANED
Here are several different photos of the coin in different lighting after I've cleaned it very lightly:
Here are several different photos of the coin in different lighting after I've cleaned it very lightly:
FINISHED PHOTOS
Cleopatra I as Isis, with Ptolemy V. 204-180 BC. Bronze Coin
Head of Cleopatra I as Isis right / , Eagle standing left on thunderbolt.
Head of Cleopatra I as Isis right / , Eagle standing left on thunderbolt.
Reverse Reads:
(PTOLEMAIOU BASILEWS) which Translates to: King Ptolemy
Cleopatra the First as Isis 204-180 B.C.
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As deep as it was, I tend to think it was not the farmer's. We really don't know every ship of people who've been on this land. I would think a local historian would be interested to know your finds. You might be on to something, and who knows, maybe there are others who suspected it but didn't have proof. You may have the proof! 
