Ptolemy, The Last Mauretanian King

Triton XV, Lot: 1326. Estimate $2000. Sold for $3250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

KINGS of MAURETANIA. Juba II, with Ptolemy. 25 BC-AD 24. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.34 g, 6h). Caesarea mint. REX • IVBA, diademed head of Juba right / REX • PTOLEMAEVS • REGIS • IVBÆ F •, diademed and draped bust of Ptolemy left. MAA 111; Mazard 379; Müller, Afrique –; SNG Copenhagen –. Good VF, toned. Very rare.

Ex Chaponnière & Hess-Divo 1 (18 May 2010), lot 187.

For almost fifty years Ptolemy's father, Juba II, maintained order in North Africa as one of Rome's most loyal client kings. He had been given Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene as a wife by a grateful Augustus, and their son Ptolemy succeeded him in AD 24. Ptolemy was not the strong leader his father had been, and increasing restiveness among the tribes led to the outbreak of several revolts, which he could not quell. Ptolemy was called to Rome for consultations in 40 AD, where he was murdered by the unstable emperor Gaius Caligula. Mauritania was formally annexed to the empire in AD 44, and the revolts were brutally crushed by Roman legions. These rare coins in the name of "Ptolemy, son of King Juba" affirm the continuity of the Mauritanian dynasty and its long dedication to the "Roman Peace" of Augustus at a time when strains were opening in the relationship between overlord and client king. The death of Ptolemy marked the final end of the dynasty begun by his illustrious ancestor, Ptolemy I Soter.