Kyrene, Cyrenaica (Ptolemy VIII Euergetes reign)

[B]Kyrene, Cyrenaica (Ptolemy VIII Euergetes Reign; 145-116 BC.) AE 33[/B] [u]Obv[/u]: Bust of Zeus Ammon, facing right; centering hole w/ tapered flan. [u]Rev[/u]: Stylized eagle standing upon fulmen, facing right; EUERGETOU BASILEWS PTOLEMAIOU legend surrounding; centering hole. [u]Attribution[/u]: Buttrey 282 (rev. die); Svoronos 1653; SNG Cop. - [u]Provenance[/u]: ex. HJB 161 (#512), 8.23.08 [u]Weight[/u]: 15.75 gm. [u]Maximal Diameter[/u]: 33 mm [u]Axis[/u]: 11 [u]Note[/u]: Regarding these late, but large diameter Kyrene issues, Buttrey writes, "the bronze of Euergetes II for Cyrenaica differs markedly from its predecessors. Contrary to custom (Ptolemy VIII Euergetes) displayed his eponym prominently, usually spelled out - EUERGETOU BASILEWS PTOLEMAIOU. The eponym of the Ptolemaic kings does not appear on Ptolemaic bronze at Alexandria. Euergetes' name asserted his independent authority and avoided the confusion of the conventional PTOLEMAIOU BASILEWS: that would have been taken to mean the king in Alexandria. It is the peculiarity of the eponym, then, that indicates the Cyrenaican reign, for to introduce it on a coin after 145 when he was king in Egypt would have been unparalleled and superfluous...all of these coins bear the head of Ammon, and, again, the eponym of Euergetes, which is unknown elsewhere in the coinage that can be confidently attributed to him. Their fabric and style also are comparable to the Cyrenaican issues of Euergetes attested to by the excavations (i.e., Sanctuary of Demeter & Persephone, Kyrene); in fact the dies of 282 (reverse die of the coin above) without a control letter an BMC Ptolemies 95, 86 (with K) must be the work of the same Cyrenaican engraver." Buttrey (1998). The bronze coinage of Cyrenaica. In The Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya: Final Reports, Vol. VI. GK289