Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Tetradrachm (silver, 28 mm, 13.24 g). Alexandria, 204-180 B.C. Obverse: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck. Reverse: Eagle standing left on a thunderbolt. Legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ (King Ptolemy). Diameter: 2.8 cm - Weight: 13.2 g (Beau TTB, almost superb) References: Svoronos 1231, SNG Copenhagen 244-5. Ptolemy V, son of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III, acceded to the throne after the death of his parents when he was just five years old, was crowned Pharaoh at Memphis in 196 BC and married Cleopatra the first of his name. His coronation was immortalized by the Rosetta Stone, the famous stele that enabled Champollion to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822.

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