Tetradrachm - Ptolemy VI Philometor Alexandria

Ptolemy VI came to power as a child, with his mother Cleopatra I serving as regent until her death in 176 BC — after which rival court factions manipulated the young king against his brother, eventually producing a three-way co-regency between Ptolemy VI, his brother Ptolemy VIII, and their sister Cleopatra II that ancient sources describe as chaotic at best. The Sixth Syrian War (170–168 BC) fell squarely within this issue's production window, during which the Seleucid king Antiochus IV actually occupied Memphis and had himself crowned pharaoh, forcing Rome to intervene through the famous ultimatum of Gaius Popilius Laenas.

Alexandria's mint output during this period was substantial but politically fractured, with coins struck under shifting authorities as control of the capital changed hands.