GREEK, North Africa, Kyrene mint. c. 101 - 96 BC.

North Africa, Kyrene mint. c. 101 - 96 BC. Bronze quarter-obol, Fair, 1.214g, 12.2mm. Obv: diademed head of Ptolemy I as Zeus right, wearing aegis, hole from minting process. Rev: head of Libya or Isis right, PTOLEMAIOU BASILEWS. Ref: Buttrey: The Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya, Final Reports, Volume VI, 542 - 603. Rare

Ptolemy Apion was a son of Ptolemy VIII, perhaps by an Egyptian concubine. This makes him a half-brother of Ptolemy IX and X. Ptolemy Apion died in 96 B.C., without an heir, leaving his kingdom to the Roman Republic. According to Butrey, Apion's coinage was nothing but very small change, with a peak about 1.3 grams. Buttrey notes, "the Greek coinage of Cyrenaica, of glorious tradition, ended in the lamentable small bronzes of Apion."