Cleopatra, Caesarion or Ptolemy XII?

Cleopatra VII, Altes Museum, Antikensammlung Berlin, Public Domain image via Wikipedia

The mailman brought an interesting tetradrachm and I am hoping that I can confirm the identity of the ruler who issued this coin.

Here's the coin & one possibility: a coin of the last Pharaoh of Egypt the 17-year old Ptolemy Caesar or Ptolemy XV.

Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, joint rule of Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV (aka Caesarion), 37-30 BC, AR Tetradrachm, Alexandria mint, Dated regnal year 1 (37/6 BC)
Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY around, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, palm over shoulder; star (?), LA and headdress of Isis before, ΠA behind
Ref: Svoronos 1816

Caesarion, son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII, ruled jointly with his mother until her death in 30 BC. His sole rule lasted only 11 days, as 17-year-old Caesarion was betrayed by his guardians/tutors to Octavian. Octavian had him executed in Alexandria following the advice of stoic philosopher Arius Didymus, who said "Too many Caesars is not good". For an interesting article on Caesarion.

It is a good story - and if this were the case it would be a very rare coin, but there is problem - note in my description above "star (?)" - the corrosion on the reverse comes right at the point where it is a bit ambiguous - is there a star there? also is that an LA or a LΛ - the crossbar on the A is not very convincing, maybe......

A second (and, in my view, the correct attribution) - Ptolemy XII father of Cleopatra VII and grandfather to Ptolemy XV Caesarion. However, there is a Cleopatra VII twist as Ptolemy XII named Cleopatra (about 17 or 18 years old) as co-regent in 52 BC (this coin from RY 30 or 52/51 BC), and then died in March, 51 BC, and Cleopatra would have reigned the remaining 5 months of RY 30 as sole ruler. More on the chronology in this article.
Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos Auletes ("Flute Player"), 80-51 BC, AR Tetradrachm, dated regnal year 30 (52/1 BC)
Obv: Diademed head right, wearing aegis
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, palm over shoulder; LΛ above crown of Isis before; ΠA behind
Rev: Svoronos 1840; Plate LXI.25
Notes: more on this coin with additional references

So although I don't think I have a coin of Caesarion, I do think that I have a coin of Cleopatra's first year of reign as ruler of Egypt. On another note: what about that ΠΑ behind? well, oddly the mint signature for these coins of Alexandria is ΠΑ for ΠΑΦΟΣ i.e. Paphos,Cyprus. What do we make of that - not sure, this is another topic where I hope to learn more from others.

Corrections and additions to any of the above are much appreciated. Post your coins of Egypt, Ptolemaic coins and anything else that you might find interesting or entertaining.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Ptolemy IX Ar Tetradrachm 116-115 BC Obv. Head of Ptolemy I right Rv Eagle with folded wing standing left Sv 1659 14.08 grms 27 mm

 

Hmm, that bust of Ptolemy I in the first picture oddly enough reminds me of other late Ptolemaic coins that depict Ptolemy with what appear to be feminine features. Here's one such example:

Source: https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotv...&Lot=696&Val=642dfc7f59004da3813baa867c554ad9

 

Nice coin @Sulla80 and an interesting write-up of a fascinating period in history.

 

Is there a consistency in "feminine features" == Cleopatra coins?

I found this relevant site: illustrating Svoronos' misclassification and Regling's alternative.

 

Bumping this thread as I am still hoping that someone can help clarify a few questions I have on this coin:
- does the headdress of Isis on the coin always mean Cleopatra?
- were these coins (with ΠA mintmark) from two mints despite being marked as Cyprus?
- what is the story on "feminine portraits", and more generally did the portrait of Ptolemy always shift to reflect the current ruler?
Thanks for any thoughts/info and as always useful references/articles are of interest.

 

I wouldn't call those features of Ptolemy remotely feminine. The nose and chin are simply less aggressively prominent.

 

Hi @Sulla80,

Thank you for a very interesting overview of this period of Egyptian history. Very nice coin and photograph too!

You are correct in that the coin is a year 30 Teradrachm of Ptolemy XII. I think your questions with answers are laid out in Otto Morkholm's article "PTOLEMAIC COINS AND CHRONOLOGY: THE DATED SILVER COINAGE OF ALEXANDRIA" ANS Museum Notes, Vol. 20 (1975), pp. 7-24 (23 pages). You can read or download the article here. See especially the section on what he calls the 5th Period (55/54 - 31/30 BCE), where the types of Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra and the star coins are discussed.

The key to confirming your coin could not be a coin of year 1 with a star has to do with the hairstyle of the Ptolemy on the obverse. The so-called "tier-hairstyle" (fig 1) starts with coins of Ptolemy XII in year 26 and goes up to and including year 11 of Cleopatra VII. In Year 12 there is a markedly different "cap style" (or "Beatle haircut", fig 2) used from there on out to the final year 22 tetradrachms.



Like you, Morkholm aslo notes that the Λ of year 30 and A of year one look similar. He states:

"It now happens that at this time the distinction between Λ and A in the coin inscriptions was practically non-existent. Both in the royal title, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, and in the initials ΠA we find many cases where Λ is used instead of A. The rather regrettable result of this carelessness is that when we meet with coins dated LΛ we cannot be sure whether it stands for year 30 or year 1. In this case, of course, it is the same Egyptian year and that is certainly provided with a coinage, but here the numismatic material offers no information concerning the change of ruler."​

My experience over 40 years of collecting Ptolemaic coins has never shown me coins where it was not clear if it was year 30 versus year 1. There seem to always be distinct crossbars or dots for the crossbars. So, I take that quote with a large grain of salt.

Additionally, I should note that Cathy Lorber, last time I discussed this series with her (at least 10 years ago), was not convinced the star coins of years 1 & 7 were actually minted for Caesarion. Her opinion was that these were from a 2nd officina of the mint. I am personally convince by Morkholm's arguments, but am open to evidence - especially hoard evidence if any - that would bolster Lorber's ideas. However, I still use her dating in my collection database. She's still the expert here! Here's what Morkholm wrote on that:

"Coins of the second (central-hairstyle) style, dated to year 1 and
year 7 are known (Plate VI, 5 and 7). It seems quite unreasonable that the clear pattern developed above should be broken in only two years. With several die cutters working simultaneously at a mint, different styles might occur in the same period. But we should expect such a stylistic diversity to make itself felt throughout the period and not to be concentrated in two years."​

Here are my coins for comparison. Thanks again for an entertaining post.

Year 30, Ptolemy XII, Svoronos 1840, pl lxi, 25:



Year 1, Cleopatra VII, Svoronos 1815, pl A, 19 - No star above LA



Year 1, Cleopatra VII (I prefer year 1 Caesarion = yr 16 Cleopatra VII), Svoronos 1816, pl lxi, 1 with a start above LA.



You also asked:
- does the headdress of Isis on the coin always mean Cleopatra?
Yes for coins dated years 1-22; It's Ptolemy XII for coins dated years 26-30.

- were these coins (with ΠA mintmark) from two mints despite being marked as Cyprus?
No one really knows why the ΠA mintmark was adapted/adopted for both Cyprus and Alexandria starting with Ptolemy VI.

- what is the story on "feminine portraits", and more generally did the portrait of Ptolemy always shift to reflect the current ruler?
That is probably in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes I see Mark Antony in Cleo's Ptolemy portraits; sometimes her.

- Broucheion

 

@Broucheion, Thank you for the generous post on these coins and for the answers to my many questions. Your RY 30 coin seems to have a particularly high relief portrait - a very nice looking coin. Your mention of discussion with Cathy Lorber is a fun reminder of the "small world" of ancient coins. The Mørkholm article is also wonderfully clear and aligned to my questions!

 

PTOLEMY I

This guy was the boyhood buddy of Alexander... What happened to Ptolemy's line with all the INCEST / IN-BREEDING???


Egypt Ptolemy I Soter Tet Delta bankers marks