What is this ancient Greek coin?

[eagames]

I believe this is an ancient Greek coin and the reverse inscription is "Of King Ptolomy"

It came from a person that found it in the middle east back in the 70s. The person was a big collector of ancients and knew what it was but died without ever telling me anything except it was real and very old.

I want to know:

The age?
The denomination?
What metal?
Whose portrait?
The value?

[Bob P]

This may or may not be accurate because of the uncertainties of trying to identify ancient coinage.
I believe this is a bronze or copper from EGYPT, Ptolemy II 285-246 B.C series coin with the head of Alexander the great wearing a lions scalp or elephant headress with the reverse showing an Eagle on thunderbolt . Value in this condition would probably be around 20-50 dollars

[Robert]

One of these I would suspect.
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/egypt/ptolemy_IV/t.html
Bob, I didn't know you knew about ancients!

[Bob P]

Robert,
I have had hundreds of ancient Roman, Greek, and Byzantine coins for years. However, trying to identify them is very tricky at best, and I am always trying to use the Internet, and some book I have here to identify them, with some success. I am no authority by a long shot, but I am very much intrigued by the coins, and love to think about the history surrounding them. I guess it's just another way to keep me on my toes!

[eagames]

Good inputs.

I see so many similar ones but it seems that the bust is a bit different or the size and look of the eagle is slightly different. I guess they must have made a lot of different versions.

I have almost the opposite with Roman coins, for most of them I can find the same ones in pictures. It amazes me that the Romans even used mintmarks and made the same coins in many places/mints. Many of them are only worth a few $.

It's fun to identify them and imagine who had it, how they earned it, what they bought with it, how it got lost and where it was for so long.