PTOLEMAIC KINGS OF EGYPT. Cleopatra VII Thea Neotera, 51-30 BC. 40 Drachmai or Obol (Bronze, 21 mm, 8.16 g, 12 h), Alexandria, after 47. Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra VII to right.
Rev. BAΣI[ΛIΣ]ΣHΣ KΛEOΠATΡAΣ Eagle standing left on thunderbolt with wings closed; in field to left, double cornucopiae; in field to right, M (= 40, mark of value). CPE B826. SNG Copenhagen 422-4. Svoronos 1872. Weiser 184-5. Well centered and with an unusually attractive portrait, a lovely example of this difficult issue. The reverse a bit weak
, otherwise, about very fine.
From a Swiss collection, formed before 2005.
The penultimate pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra, ruled alongside her brother, Ptolemy XIV. She was renowned for her beauty and charm and was the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, bearing a son, Caesarion (later known as Ptolemy XV), to Caesar. Mark Antony was so captivated by her that he abandoned his wife, Octavia (Octavian's sister, whom he had married in 40 BC to avoid war with Octavian), forsaking his alliance with his co-triumvir. This decision eventually led to war, culminating in the deaths of both Antony and Cleopatra, the incorporation of Egypt into the Roman Empire, and the end of the Hellenistic period of classical history.
This remarkable portrait of Cleopatra, featured on a 40 drachmai coin (likely an obol), is youthful and striking, with a thin, well-defined face, a diadem, individual strands of hair, and a bun tied at the back of her head. It bears a strong resemblance to the Berlin Cleopatra, a marble bust from her lifetime now housed in the Altes Museum in Berlin. In Egypt, Cleopatra issued both silver tetradrachms and two bronze denominations - an 80 drachmai and a 40 drachmai (likely a diobol and an obol, indicated by a Π or M in the right field of the reverse) - but no gold coins, as far as we know.
There are other coins bearing her likeness, struck in various parts of the Near East, generally issued under Mark Antony's authority. However, the large bronzes from Egypt (this being the smaller of the two), particularly in such fine condition as this example, are truly a treat for collectors
