While the most famous Ptolemaic coins may be the incredibly artistic silver tetradrachms of Ptolemy I or the massive silver coins of Berenike II and Ptolemy III Euergetes, there lurks a hidden giant in the desert sands: the massive bronze octobols of Ptolemy III. While the bronze coins issued in Egypt during the latter half of the third century BC ranged dramatically in weight, they mostly stayed below 50 grams (denominated as a tetrobol). However, due to the scarcity of local silver and the high value of gold, Egyptian authorities enforced a mostly closed economy where imported silver was subject to compulsory conversion. In exchange, you would receive locally produced bronze coins with denominated with a mostly fiduciary value. Today, they are fascinating and highly collectable, though the smaller ones are common. However, once these coins break into the 80-90 gram range, they become very scarce and collectors have waited years to get their hands on an example weighing over 100 (we speak from experience)!