Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Electronic Auction 531 25-26 Jan 2023
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PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon). 145-116 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 13.92 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Dated RY 27 (144/3 BC). Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; LKZ (date) to left, ΠA to right. Svoronos 1501–2; Oliver 4466–71 var. (obv. die unlisted); SNG Copenhagen 325; DCA 54. Scratches. VF.
One of the more infamous Ptolemaic rulers, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, nicknamed Physcon ("Pot Belly"), cut a bloody swath to gain and retain the throne of Egypt. One of three children of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Physcon ruled jointly with his siblings in various arrangements, sometimes harmonious but usually contentious, from 170 BC to 145 BC, when his brother Ptolemy VI was killed in battle. To gain absolute power, he tricked his sister Cleopatra II into a very Ptolemaic sibling marriage, then murdered her son and married her daughter, Cleopatra III, creating a rather awkward and tempestuous menage a trois that led to civil war and further familial bloodletting.
One of the more infamous Ptolemaic rulers, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes, nicknamed Physcon ("Pot Belly"), cut a bloody swath to gain and retain the throne of Egypt. One of three children of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Physcon ruled jointly with his siblings in various arrangements, sometimes harmonious but usually contentious, from 170 BC to 145 BC, when his brother Ptolemy VI was killed in battle. To gain absolute power, he tricked his sister Cleopatra II into a very Ptolemaic sibling marriage, then murdered her son and married her daughter, Cleopatra III, creating a rather awkward and tempestuous menage a trois that led to civil war and further familial bloodletting.