172, Lot: 137. Estimate $100. Sold for $148. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. BI Tetradrachm (25mm, 11.11 g). Dated RY 8 (AD 144/5). Laureate head right / Apollo Didymeus standing nude, holding stag and bow; date across fields. Cf. Köln 1457 (altar in left field); Milne -; Dattari 2137; Emmett 1358. VF, porosity. Very nice style.

From The John A. Seeger Collection.

The cult center of Apollo Didymeus at Miletos achieved a high level of fame throughout the ancient world, including Egypt. The 26th Dynasty pharaoh Necho II (610-595 BC) won two great battles in Syria, and dedicated his armor to the shrine of Apollo (Herodotus ii, 159). From the evidence of the coins, the popularity of the cult continued into Roman times.