Any suggestions on this "Cleopatra VII"

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Pishpash, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    I have had this a few years, it came with a ticket that said it was a Cleopatra VII with double cornucopia rev. I suspect it is more likely to be Apollo, either way, I have not been able to identify it.

    There are coins on Wildwinds with a double cornucopia, but they are side by side, not like these at all.

    Any suggestions?

    Cleopatra VII obv.jpg Cleopatra VII rev.jpg

    Edit: AE10 1.19g
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Looks like mine...

    @TIF pointed out some conflicting info on this.
    (This one is mine, and I believe she has one too.)
    Egypt Cleopatra VII Cyprus  AE 11 1.8g obol Paphos mint as Isis dbl-corunc SNG Cop 649.jpg
    Ægypt
    Cleopatra VII
    Æ11 of Cyprus
    Obv: Her bust r
    Rev: Cornucopiae
    Comments: nrly centered, smooth dark green patina with hilighting; tiny rev legnd visible. Last Pharaoh of Ægypt


    @TIF STATED: "There appears to be controversy about who issued this coin, with Matthew Kreuzer advancing the Cleo VII story in his book The Coinage System of Cleopatra VII, Marc Antony and Augustus in Cyprus. Other numismatists... not so much. On Forvm there are some interesting and highly redacted (moderator deletions) back-and-forths between the author and others.

    Oliver Hoover wrote a "famously" scathing review of the book and its conclusions although I can't seem to find a working link to that right now.

    It appears that most numismatists are attributing this to Arsinoe III? Ardatirion might be able to tell us more. I certainly don't know which, if either, is correct."
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-ptolemy-connection.277157/page-3
     
  4. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

  5. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    I seen a FDC silver coin from Cleopatra VII in NFA catalogue 3301798m.jpg / she was nothing like Claudette Colbert/ Eliz. Taylor:(
    Actually she looked like Emperor Leopold I wife....Eleonoreo_O
     
    dlhill132, lordmarcovan and Pishpash like this.
  6. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    ancient coin hunter and Pishpash like this.
  7. ycon

    ycon Renaissance Man

    @TIF @Alegandron I had the same realization when researching my "cleopatra vii" recently. I bought it years ago from Forvm, where the controversy was not well reported (at the time). After reading about it, I have to say I'm torn. The strongest evidence for it IMHO was the argument that its abundance on cyprus would make much more sense under a powerful leader with a strong presence like Cleopatra VII, rather than a minor one like Arsinoe. On the other hand, and by the same token, I found the argument that Cleopatra would not have minted coinage without her name on it pretty compelling. I wonder if we'll ever have good evidence one way or the other...
     
  8. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Compelling, but not conclusive. Some coins do exist of her portrait without an inscription. Take for example:

    Kings of Galatia, 36-25 BC.
    Uncertain mint in Galatia, Pisidia, or Lykaonia
    Obv: Draped bust of Artemis right bearing the portrait of Cleopatra VII, bow and quiver over shoulder.
    Rx: Stag standing right.

    1.jpg

    This coin clearly bears the name of Amyntas. He was an interesting character who had made great strides towards his own empire. He had allied himself to Marc Antony who subsequently awarded him Galatia. These coins clearly bear the portrait of Cleopatra and it is assumed this was his homage to Antony and the Queen. Didnt do him much in the end. As the end game approached he abandoned his benefactor in favor of Octavian. After his death Galatia was transformed into a province.

    Anyway, this coin was not minted by her but still bears her portrait. And no, I do not agree with the realignment suggested by Kreuzer.
     
  9. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    Thank you everyone, this has been quite educational. After consideration, I think I will record this as Cleopatra VII with a note that it probably isn't :happy:
     
  10. hoth2

    hoth2 Well-Known Member

    As a dealer, does that make it hard for you to deal in this coin? Imagine it's hard to find these without the Cleopatra VII markup, which would make it hard to sell without the same markup, or do you have sources that agree with you and skip the markup?
     
    ancient coin hunter likes this.
  11. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..is that the 1930's-40 beauty/movie star?..i have just purchased an 1938 LIFE magazine featuring her..awaiting its arrival..:)
     
    panzerman and Alegandron like this.
  12. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Easy. I have never handled one of the OP coin types. But if I do get one I would not put anything in the description or price about Cleopatra. And, honestly, I rarely handle such coins which are artificially high in price due to popularity.
     
    hoth2 likes this.
  13. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    I can't remember how much I paid, but it wasn't very much at all.
     
    ominus1 likes this.
  14. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    This coin has Cleopatra VII counter marked on the face of Zeus. It looks clear but not enough for some viewers. Hope that could help a little bit. Zeus ctmk       Cleopatra.png Zeus ctmk R   Cleop.JPG
     
  15. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    .i've looked at a lot of these(said Cleo Vll types) and all i've ever seen for sale is the reverse double cornucopiae ...if that's any help to anybody :p
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
  16. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    Here is a photo of her as Cleopatra.... colbert3.jpg
     
  17. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    yup, that's her!:) She is on the cover of the Life magazine Nov. 13 1939 issue, along with a write up and more pics inside..it will be in the 2nd wave of these i bought..
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2018
  18. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    She definately looks like the "Hollywood" version of Cleopatra VII. I had a lawn client with a gorgeous Rottweiler female also named Cleopatra! We will never know what thr real Cleo looked like. Can't go by her image on coins, nor by Hollywood. Great example Catharine the Great, on her coins she is an overwieght, ordinary looking Czarina, Hollywood version...pretty hot looking:happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy::happy: catherine 32.jpg
     
  19. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    ..from what i can gather from mentions of Cleo Vll, she wasn't any beauty queen, but i'd bet they would have a far better looking version of me playing me in Hollywood:smug:
     
  20. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Beauty vs filthy rich. Hmmmmmm
     
  21. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    Here's Claudette on the LIFE cover:) LIFE magazine Nov 13,1939 Claudette Corbert 001.JPG
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page