Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246-222 BC, Tetrobol

Ptolemy III Euergetes, tetrobol, bronze (AE), 246–222 BC, Alexandria mint, 35.62 g, 39 mm. Obverse with laureate head of Zeus-Ammon right, the ram’s horn curling behind the ear. Reverse with eagle standing left on thunderbolt; Greek legend ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ around, with an uncertain control mark in the field. Struck on a broad, thick flan consistent with the large Ptolemaic bronze series. Cf. Svoronos, Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion (Ptolemaic bronzes of Ptolemy III); cf. BMC Greek, Ptolemies (Alexandria).

Large bronzes of Ptolemy III formed part of the closed Ptolemaic monetary system in Egypt, where bronze was produced in substantial modules for domestic transactions alongside silver and gold. The Zeus-Ammon portrait links the dynasty to Egyptian and Cyrenaican religious traditions, while the eagle-on-thunderbolt reverse functioned as a long-standing emblem of Ptolemaic royal authority; issues of this type belong to the period of Ptolemy III’s military successes and consolidation of Egypt’s position as a major Hellenistic power.