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Chalkon - Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 145 BC - 116 BC |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ. (Translation: KING PTOLEMY.) |
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| Additional information |
Ptolemy VIII — nicknamed "Physkon" (Potbelly) by the Alexandrians who despised him — ruled through one of the most turbulent stretches of Ptolemaic history, having already fought a brutal civil war against his own brother Ptolemy VI before finally consolidating sole rule in 145 BC. His reign saw mass expulsions of intellectuals from Alexandria, a deliberate purge of the city's scholarly class that effectively ended the first great period of the Mouseion.
Small copper fractionals of this type circulated at the lowest register of the economy, handling transactions the silver coinage never touched. SNG Copenhagen 648 remains the standard reference specimen for die alignment on this issue.