Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos AR Tetradrachm, Alexandria, Eagle on Thunderbolt

Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, tetradrachm, silver, reign 80–58 BC, struck 68–67 BC, 13.95 g, 26 mm. Anepigraphic obverse with diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing the aegis. Reverse: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ; eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings closed; regnal date LIΔ in left field; control ΠA in right. Struck at Alexandria on the Ptolemaic standard, dated regnal year 14. References: Svoronos 1861; Noeske 340; SNG Copenhagen 385.

This issue belongs to the long Ptolemaic dynastic series that continued to depict the founder Ptolemy I on silver well into later reigns, asserting continuity amid political dependence on Rome. The eagle on thunderbolt served as the state emblem of the Lagid monarchy. The date mark LIΔ places this piece in the early phase of Ptolemy XII’s first reign, shortly before the instability that culminated in his exile in 58 BC, and reflects Alexandria’s role as Egypt’s principal mint and monetary center.