Watch List notes:

Greek Coins
Ptolemy IV, 221 – 205 and posthumous issues

Drachm, uncertain Cypriot mint late 2nd century BC, AV 3.05 g. Draped bust of young Ptolemy IV (?) r., wearing diadem entwined with ivy leaves and fruit; thyrsus over l. shoulder. Rev. ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ – ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ??Eagle standing l. on thunderbolt. Svoronos –, cf. 1794 (for obverse type). Spier A Group of Ptolemaic Engraved Gems, The Journal of The Walters Art Gallery 47, 1989, p. 33, Fig. 47 (this coin).
Unique. An issue of exceptional interest and importance. A portrait which is a
masterpiece of late Hellenistic style, virtually as struck and Fdc
Ex Tkalec & Rauch 25 April 1990, 190 and NFA 25, 1990, 286 sales.The placement of this unique gold drachm in the vast series of the Ptolemaic kings is perhaps impossible with any degree of precision. It likely depicts Ptolemy IV (222-205/4 B.C.), albeit posthumously, for it appears to have been struck sometime in the late 2nd Century B.C. The ivy-entwined diadem and the thyrsus over the shoulder indicate that this king was being equated to Dionysus. This is of relatively little help in making an attribution, however, since this god was important to every Ptolemaic monarch, down to Cleopatra VII, due to his connection to Alexander III.Even so, an association with Dionysus was perhaps most aggressively pursued by Ptolemy IV Philopater, making him a probable candidate. He formalized through his government many aspects of the worship of this god, established festivals and ceremonies, and even created a community within his court dedicated to the god's worship. He also was the first of the Ptolemaic kings – at least unofficially – to assume the epithet Neos Dionysos.The only parallel for this coin in terms of design content is a series of silver didrachms and drachms (Svornos nos. 1789 to 1811) with an identical design but made in a wide range of style and fabric. This suggests that the silver component may have been struck over a long period; indeed, Svornos distributes the portraits/issues among Ptolemy IV, V, VI and XI. Many of these silver pieces are unmarked, whereas others have on their reverse a symbol, including an acrostolium, a calathus, a diademed petasus, a star, a helmet, a wreath, a club, a caduceus, and the pilei of the Dioscuri.