The Pretender Eumenes III

248, Lot: 152. Estimate $100. Sold for $1500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

LYDIA, Thyateira. Eumenes III (Aristonikos). Pretender to the throne of Pergamon, 133-130 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 12.14 g, 12h). Cistophoric coinage. Dated year 2 (of his revolt = 132/1 BC). Cista mystica containing serpent; all within ivy-wreath / Bow in case between two coiled serpents, thunderbolt between their heads; to left, :ΘYA; to right, male head (Dionysos?); within coils of serpents, BA-EY and B (Year 2). Kleiner-Noe Series 1, (unlisted dies); SNG von Aulock 3198. VF, darkly toned, rough surfaces.

When the Pergamene king Attalos II died in 134 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. Because the Romans were slow in securing their claim, Aristonikos, son of the earlier Pergamene king Eumenes II, filled the power vacuum, claiming the throne and taking the dynastic name Eumenes. Although unable to capture Pergamon, his revolt lasted four years, until he was defeated and captured by the Romans under the consul M. Perperna. After his surrender, he was paraded through Rome and executed.