Author Description

Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, Part II, by Catharine Lorber, is the long-anticipated second half of the Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire (CPE) project featuring the coins struck by Ptolemy V-Cleopatra VII. As with Part I, Lorber essentially rewrites the sections on these rulers in J. N. Svoronos' classic, but now much out-of-date, Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion (1904). The body of coinage catalogued by Svoronos is enlarged by hundreds of additional emissions in precious metal and bronze, recorded from subsequent scholarship, from hoards, from commercial sources, and from private collections. Lorber's attributions, dates, and interpretations rest on numismatic research conducted after Svoronos, or on the latest archaeological and hoard information. She also provides extensive historical and numismatic introductions that give the coins deeper context and meaning.