PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25.5mm, 14.10 g, 11h). Uncertain mint in Cilicia. Struck circa 220-218 BC. Good VF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 546. Estimated: $ 1 500

Greek, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 4 750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25.5mm, 14.10 g, 11h). Uncertain mint in Cilicia. Struck circa 220-218 BC. Jugate draped busts right of Serapis and Isis / Eagle standing left, head right, on thunderbolt; filleted double cornucopia over shoulder, TI to left, monogram to right. Unpublished. Toned. Good VF. Extremely rare, one in CoinArchives (Nomos 24, lot 257).

Ex Nomos 21 (21 November 2020), lot 270.

This type is thought to have been issued in celebration of the Ptolemaic victory over the Seleukids at the battle of Raphia during the Fourth Syrian War. Official propaganda proclaimed that these two deities, Serapis and Isis, had intervened on behalf of the Egyptians, saving them from defeat (see C. Lorber, “The Ptolemaic Era Coinage Revisited,” NC 2007, p. 116, and L. Bricault, “Serapis et Isis, Sauveurs de Ptolémé IV à Raphia,” Chronique d’Égypte LXXIV (1999), pp. 334-43).

Thomas Landvatter, in his die study cited above that appeared in the 2012 American Journal of Numismatics (Second Series, Vol. 24, p. 88), suggests that this issue was “carrying a very specific ideological message directed more widely throughout the empire: Ptolemy IV was equating himself and his wife Arsinoe with the divine sibling-spouses Serapis and Isis.” Landvatter also notes that “[t]his was an ideological statement made during wartime, meant to have wide appeal and explicitly associate the Ptolemaic king and queen with two of the most popular deities in the Eastern Mediterranean.” Indeed, the popularity of the Serapis/Isis cult would outlive the Ptolemaic dynasty and continue well into the Roman Imperial period, only to be eventually usurped by the Christian and Muslim faiths.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session Two – Lot 319-587 will be held Monday afternoon, 18 May 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM 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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