Ptolemy II AR Tetradrachm, Sidon, 285–246 BC, Eagle on Thunderbolt

Ptolemy II Philadelphos, tetradrachm, silver, reign 285–246 BC, struck 285–246 BC, Sidon; 14.26 g; 27 mm. Obverse anepigraphic: diademed head of Ptolemy I Soter right, wearing aegis; dotted border. Reverse: ΠTOΛEMAIOY ΣΩTHPOΣ; eagle standing left on thunderbolt; in left field the city abbreviation ΣΙΔ above a monogram with date above; dotted border. Struck on the Phoenician standard, centered on a compact flan with minor peripheral flatness consistent with the series. References: Lorber, CPE 545; Svoronos 755; cf. SNG Copenhagen —. This Sidon issue exemplifies the Ptolemaic practice under Ptolemy II of honoring his father Ptolemy I on silver coinage while asserting dynastic control over the Phoenician coast, a region vital for fleets during the early Syrian Wars. The eagle on thunderbolt served as the dynasty’s badge, and the Sidonian abbreviations and dating system document local administrative integration within the Ptolemaic monetary network on the Phoenician weight standard.