Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 123 23-24 May 2023
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KINGS of MAURETANIA. Ptolemy. AD circa 20/1-40. AR Denarius (15.5mm, 2.11 g, 12h). Caesarea mint. Dated RY 1 (circa AD 20/1 or 21/2). Diademed and draped bust right / Palm tree. MAA 248; Mazard 414; SNG Copenhagen –. Toned, light roughness, faint cleaning scratches, indications of undertype on reverse. VF. Very rare, only one example in CoinArchives (Triton XXIV, lot 35).
From the D.M.K. Collection.
Ptolemy of Mauretania was the last independent king of North Africa and the final ruler who could plausibly claim descent from Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. The son of Juba II and Lleopatra Selene, the daughter of the famous Egyptian queen Kleopatra VII, Ptolemy seems not to have been as strong a leader as his revered father or grandmother. After inheriting the throne in AD 20, increasing restiveness among the native tribes led to the outbreak of several revolts, which he could not quell. Ptolemy was called to Rome for consultations with the unstable Gaius Caligula in AD 40, where he was treacherously murdered. Mauretania was formally annexed to the empire in AD 44, and the revolts were brutally crushed by Roman legions. The run of 22 silver denarii struck by this last Ptolemaic king offered herein is the largest ever entered in a single auction.
From the D.M.K. Collection.
Ptolemy of Mauretania was the last independent king of North Africa and the final ruler who could plausibly claim descent from Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. The son of Juba II and Lleopatra Selene, the daughter of the famous Egyptian queen Kleopatra VII, Ptolemy seems not to have been as strong a leader as his revered father or grandmother. After inheriting the throne in AD 20, increasing restiveness among the native tribes led to the outbreak of several revolts, which he could not quell. Ptolemy was called to Rome for consultations with the unstable Gaius Caligula in AD 40, where he was treacherously murdered. Mauretania was formally annexed to the empire in AD 44, and the revolts were brutally crushed by Roman legions. The run of 22 silver denarii struck by this last Ptolemaic king offered herein is the largest ever entered in a single auction.