True. Maybe I don't need to feel so bewildered by the information overload and all the minutiae, either. I mean, it's always good to know (and didrachm vs tetradrachm is definitely information I want to know). But maybe I should try to fret less about not knowing so much. (Literally "don't sweat the details", in other words.) Maybe I'll just settle on trying to get the issuing authority, denomination, rough date range, composition, diameter, and weight on a coin, and lean on Wikipedia for the basic history, but leave the finding of catalog numbers and seemingly arcane century-old reference books to others, who are better at that sort of thing. (But of course it's always nice when the more scholarly folk step up to help with that.)
Geez. Yup. I'm with you there. (PS- I didn't even know what "archive.org" was until you mentioned it, and I took a peek just now. And me the son of a librarian and a published author. Tsk, tsk.)
This is my first one, a Ptolemy III from Tyre that I picked up at a recent Savoca auction. Ptolemy III Euergetes, r. 246-222 BC. Tyre mint indicated by the club mint-mark left of the eagle. The Ptolemies controlled Tyre until around 200 BC. I don't really know more about these than what I can read on ptolemybronze.com. I think it is Sv708 and an obol. The reverse legend is very clear which is why I bid on it: I want to get one of the really massive octobols but I haven't seen one I like at a price I want to pay.
The variety of types under the Ptolemies is fairly limited as you say. Even more so than modern-day U.S. coins, which I do not collect. However, by Roman Egypt times the reverse types were dramatically expanded. But still, who wouldn't want a giant ancient hockey puck?
Nice tet, lordmarcovan. And good to see you persisting with the ancients - I enjoy your posts. I do like the Ptolemaic bronzes, despite the sameness, especially the big ones. Back in February I got this semi-hockey puck (34.78 grams) that I now have an excuse to post: Ptolemy IV Philopator Æ 32 Alexandria Cornucopia Series 5 (221-204 B.C.) Diademed head Zeus-Ammon r. / ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ BΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ; Eagle standing left on winged thunderbolt; cornucopiae left, ΔI between legs. Svoronos 1127; SNG Copenhagen 201-202. (34.78 grams / 32 mm)
But can anyone answer with certainty for him the question of whether it is a tet, or is actually a didrachm?
CNG called it a didrachm when they listed in 13-Nov-2019. https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=6483628
The Dorney VCoins description I quoted in the OP indeed describes it as a tet, but that could have just been a simple goof. We'll see what the flip insert says when I receive it. I'm not upset that it's a didrachm. I could see how big it was.