After the immediate death of Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic states of the Successors formed the largest, strongest, and richest, as known, the Lagid Ptolemies, with Egypt as its center of prosperity. The immense wealth of the Ptolemies, which was demonstrated by the famous procession of Ptolemy II described by the Athenian, is also reflected in their currency. Truly, no other country in the ancient world has left us with such a large number and size of gold, silver, and bronze coins, which are found in both public and private collections, and in the homes of antiquities merchants, where they constantly flow in, due to the astonishing number and wealth of findings.
Unfortunately, the scientific importance of this numismatic treasure did not correspond in the slightest to its size, and until now it remains inferior to any other series of ancient coins. Truly, while every ancient coin is a valuable source of accurate and important archaeological information, the coins of the Ptolemies can provide us with very little scientific insight due to many reasons that particularly characterize this series. [...] (from the book's preface)