Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm - Ptolemy V Epiphanes
| Issuer | Ptolemaic Kingdom (Ptolemaic Kingdom (305 BC - 30 BC)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 205 BC - 180 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 14.25 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Diademed portrait bust of Ptolemy I Soter facing right, rendered in the idealized Hellenistic tradition with voluminous, finely detailed curling hair. An aegis, depicted with characteristic scaled texture and fringed border, is worn around the neck, serving as a divine attribute asserting royal legitimacy. The portrait displays strong, well-modeled facial features with a prominent brow and aquiline nose. The field is plain, and the coin is bordered by a dotted bead-and-reel inner rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An eagle with closed wings stands in left profile atop a thunderbolt, the dynastic symbol of Ptolemaic coinage. The bird is rendered with finely engraved feather detail and a boldly hooked beak turned to the left. The Greek royal legend ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ (of King Ptolemy) runs around the periphery, reading from left to right. The control mark letter E (epsilon) appears in the left field, serving as a mint or magistrate identifier. The design is enclosed within a dotted border. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Ptolemy V came to power as a child of roughly five years old following the murder of his mother Agathocleia and the mob execution of her brother Agathocles in 203 BC — a court coup that left the kingdom effectively ungoverned during one of its most dangerous periods. The Seleucid king Antiochus III and Philip V of Macedon concluded a pact to carve up Ptolemaic overseas possessions while the regency struggled to hold Egypt itself together.
The Rosetta Stone, issued in 196 BC, was a direct product of this instability — a priestly decree granting Ptolemy V divine honors in exchange for tax concessions the crown could not afford to refuse.