Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246-222 BC, Tetrobol

Ptolemy III Euergetes, AE drachm (large bronze), Alexandria, circa 246–222 BC; 46.44 g, 37 mm. Obverse: Head of Zeus-Ammon right, with ram’s horn. Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed; control marks in field. Struck at Alexandria on a broad, heavy flan in the typical Ptolemaic bronze fabric. References: cf. Svoronos, Ptolemées 964ff.; cf. SNG Copenhagen (Ptolemaic) 1000ff.; cf. Lorber, Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire I (Alexandria large bronze series). Ptolemy III expanded Ptolemaic power during the Third Syrian War and consolidated rule in Egypt through policies recorded in the Canopus Decree (238 BC). The obverse type merges Greek Zeus with the Egyptian god Amun, asserting the dynasty’s dual Hellenic and pharaonic legitimacy, while the eagle on thunderbolt became the standard reverse emblem of Ptolemaic authority. The very large bronze module reflects the Ptolemaic monetary system, in which heavy bronzes supplied the domestic economy while silver coinage was conserved for external trade, with Alexandria as the principal mint.