PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First sole reign, 180-170 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27.5mm, 14.21 g, 12h). Kition mint. Dated RY 7 (175/4 BC).

Electronic Auction 500
Lot: 458. Estimated: $ 500

Greek, Silver

Sold For $ 900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First sole reign, 180-170 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27.5mm, 14.21 g, 12h). Kition mint. Dated RY 7 (175/4 BC). Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; LZ (date) to left, KI to right. Olivier 1097–1115 (D209/R638); Svoronos 1355; SNG Copenhagen –; DCA 42 (same dies as illustration). Deeply toned, minor die wear on reverse (diagnostic for die). Near EF.

Ex El Medina Collection; Classical Numismatic Group 38 (6 June 1996), lot 576.

Ptolemy VI Philometor (”mother-loving”) inherited the throne at the age of six under a darkening cloud, after his father’s apparent murder by a palace clique. Although his reign would witness wild swings in fortune, he proved one of the more energetic and successful Ptolemaic rulers and the last truly capable man to hold the title of Pharaoh. Although badly defeated by the Seleukid King Antiochos IV Epiphanes during the Sixth Syrian War of 170-168 BC, Roman intervention saved his kingdom and preserved his throne. Exiled in 164 BC after a coup led by his scheming brother, Ptolemy VIII Physcon (”potbelly”), he sought refuge in Rome and eventually managed a triumphant return to power in 163 BC. His second reign was much more successful than the first. Egypt entered a period of stability and prosperity that saw the Roman orator Cato the Elder praise Ptolemy VI as a just and beneficent ruler. Through skillful manipulation of dynastic politics, he stirred up chaos in the Seleukid Empire and occupied a large swath of their territory, winning complete revenge for his humiliation of two decades previous. At the height of his success in 145 BC, he suffered an apparently minor fall from his horse, but rapidly worsened and died three days later. Not until Kleopatra VII would the Ptolemaic realm again be as powerful and influential in world affairs.

Closing Date and Time: 22 September 2021 at 12:32:20 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.