PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First sole reign, 180-170 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 14.21 g, 12h). Uncertain mint on Cyprus. Dated year 78 of an uncertain era (185/4 BC). Good VF.

CNG Feature Auction 129
Lot: 349.
Closing Date: May 14 2025 11:00 ET

Greek, 12h, Silver

Estimate: $ 750

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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First sole reign, 180-170 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 14.21 g, 12h). Uncertain mint on Cyprus. Dated year 78 of an uncertain era (185/4 BC). Diademed bust of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; OH (date) to left. Svoronos 1098; Olivier 75 (D9/R28 – this coin); SNG Copenhagen –; DCA2 1155. Old iridescent tone, light scratch under tone on reverse. Good VF.

Ex Collection of a Mentor; Count de Laval Collection [Property of a Nobleman] (Glendining, 18 April 1955), lot 691; Prince Waldeck Collection (Münzhandlung Basel 4, 1 October 1935), lot 1037.

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 of his dynasty 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.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 129 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 13-14 May 2025. This lot is in Session One, which will begin 13 May at 9 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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