Ptolemaic Lead Coinage in Coele Syria (103–101 BCE)

Abstract

Two lead series frequently found in the Transjordan and bearing the types of Zeus-
Ammon/eagle and Zeus/eagle are catalogued and discussed. On the basis of typology and
the inscription B–a it is argued that the lead issues imitate and evolved from a Ptolemaic
bronze coinage probably produced under Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X. On the basis of the
connection to the Ptolemaic bronze series, it is suggested that the lead series were struck
as a form of emergency money during the ‘War of Scepters’ (103–101 BCE), which
involved Ptolemaic troop movements in Transjordan and elsewhere in Coele Syria.