PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First sole reign, 180-170 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 14.43 g, 12h). Uncertain mint in Cyprus. Dated year 84 of an uncertain era (179/8 BC). Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / BAΣIΛEΩΣ [ΠTO]ΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; ΠΔ (date) to left. Olivier 127–133 (D16/R57); Mørkholm,
Ptolemaic 112–8 (A23/P82); Svoronos 1106; SNG Copenhagen 545 (same obv. die); DCA 73; McClean 9798 (same dies). Attractive light iridescent toning, minor marks. Near EF. Struck from dies of bold style, with a wonderful portrait and eagle.
Although struck late in the Ptolemaic period, the exceptional portrait of Ptolemy I on this coin proves die engravers of superior talent continued to produce coins at the empire’s provincial mints, in this case Cyprus. The portrait is a close match for quality to the earliest issues of Ptolemy I Soter, which are rightly hailed as exemplars of Hellenistic portraiture. Another distinctive feature is the use of the epithet Soter (ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ) in the reverse legend, marking it as a tribute to the dynastic founder.
