Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246-222 BC, Tetrobol

Ptolemy III Euergetes, Tetrobol, AE, 246–222 BC, Alexandria mint, 41.5 g, 40 mm.

Head of Zeus-Ammon right, the horn of Ammon visible. ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ; eagle standing left on thunderbolt. Struck at Alexandria on a large cast flan typical of Ptolemaic bronze issues. Svoronos 1166. Ptolemy III Euergetes expanded Ptolemaic power during the Third Syrian War and oversaw a major bronze coinage that supported Egypt’s closed monetary system. The head of Zeus-Ammon signaled the dynasty’s syncretic ideology linking Greek and Egyptian cults, while the eagle on thunderbolt served as the house emblem of the Ptolemies. Alexandria functioned as the central mint, and large, heavy bronzes such as this piece circulated widely within Egypt alongside reduced precious-metal issues of the period.