Ptolemy VI Philometer (mother-loving) was born ca. 186 BCE and inherited the throne at only six years of age. He ruled alongside his mother, Cleopatra I, until she died in 176 BCE. Ptolemy VI was leader of Egypt during the sixth Syrian War against King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Kingdom. Antiochus IV captured Egypt in 170 BCE and kept Ptolemy VI on as a puppet king, still only 17 years-old, until Rome ordered Antiochus IV to withdraw from Egypt in 168 BCE. Thereafter Ptolemy VI ruled alongside his brother Ptolemy VIII, nicknamed 'Physco' (fatso) owing to his corpulence. (There is no Ptolemy VII, by the way – the numeration of rulers is a modern convention, and modern scholars have occasionally caused much confusion with it when dealing with ancient rulers.) Cleopatra II, the sister and wife of Ptolemy VI, also joined in the rule of Egypt later on. Ptolemy VI ruled until 145 BCE.
The Greeks identified the Egyptian sun god Ammon with their Zeus, and ‘Zeus-Ammon’ became one of Zeus’ many identities. As such Zeus is depicted with the horns of a ram just like Ammon on this coin, making the imported god a more relatable figure for the native Egyptian people. The eagle was a symbol chosen by Ptolemy I Soter for use on his coinage, and was carried on as the symbol of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Sometimes coinage depicted two eagles side-by-side since kingship was so often shared during the Ptolemaic dynasty. The fulmen (thunderbolt) was the weapon of Zeus and symbolised the power of the strongest of the gods.
The lotus flower was associated with the goddess Aphrodite, also known as Cypris, and as such the flower tends to indicate coinage minted on the island of Cyprus. The island had independent city-kingdoms that began minting their own coinage in the late 6th century BCE. The Cyprians came under Alexander’s control as part of his conquest of Asia Minor and were instructed to replace their own coinage with Alexander’s, as well as to produce it for distribution elsewhere. After Alexander’s death Cyprus was an important territorial possession as it had the best trees for ship-building timber, which was sorely needed in Egypt and Asia. The Diadochi fought for control of Cyprus fiercely and their descendants continued to do so for some time.
This particular coin is made from bronze, which is an alloy made mostly of copper that turns black due to oxidation. Remnants of its original colour can be seen in the lower grooves between Zeus’ hair and beard.
