PTOLEMY VI PHILOMETOR AE 25, "LOTUS FLOWER", CYPRUS MINT
Svoronos 1397, Very Fine, 24.8mm, 12.47 grams, Struck Circa. 180 - 170 B.C.E.(Probably early 170's)
Obverse: Head of Zeus-Ammon to right
Reverse: Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, lotus flower to left, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ around, EYΛ between legs
Nicely centered and struck. A very interesting and scarce type from the Cypriot mint.
It is thought that this series, with lotus and EYΛ between the legs, was struck just before the invasion by Antiochos IV Epiphanes (who was later stopped by the Romans, at which point he went to rampage in Judaea). It is theorized that there was a massive seizure of this coinage, which was subsequently taken back to Syria, where many were countermarked by Antiochos IV for circulation in his territories. This theory is further supported by the fact that a number of coins in this series have the royal name, ΠTOΛEMAIOY erased. This particular coin also does not have a readable ΠTOΛEMAIOY, although difficult to determine why.
More more information about the Lotus types you can read the informative paper by Cathy Lorber entitled "The lotus of Aphrodite on Ptolemaic bronzes" and accessible here.
