PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Cleopatra VII (51-30 BC). AE 80 drachmae (26mm, 16.38 gm, 11h). NGC VF 5/5 - 3/5. Alexandria, ca. 50-40 BC. Diademed, draped bust of Cleopatra VII right, seen from front / ΚΛΕOΠΑΤΡΑΣ-ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; double cornucopia in left field, Π in right field. Svoronos 1871. SNG Copenhagen 419. Selections from the Donald Scarinci Collection The last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra VII was born in 69 BC and succeeded her father Ptolemy XII Auletes in 51 BC. She soon fell into a dynastic clash with her weak-willed younger brother Ptolemy XIII, who forced her into exile until the arrival of Julius Caesar in Alexandria in 48 BC. Cleopatra had herself smuggled in to Caesar wrapped in a carpet, and this display of spunk by the nubile 20-year-old enchanted the dictator. Caesar's bitter Alexandrine War, which ended in the defeat and death of Ptolemy XIII, was fought on her behalf. Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC and summoned Cleopatra to join him the following year. She was thus in Rome when Caesar was murdered on March 15, 44 BC. Returning to Alexandria, she was summoned to meet the Triumvir Marc Antony at Tarsus in 41 BC. Once again, a powerful Roman succumbed to Cleopatra's charms. In 37 BC, Cleopatra provided money and supplies in support of Antony's abortive invasion of Parthia and a punitive raid on Armenia the following year. This remarkable bronze issue clearly shows that Cleopatra was not a "beauty" in the modern, Hollywood sense of the term. The die engraver has taken particular care to give Cleopatra a powerful, almost masculine profile. Ancient historians confirm that Cleopatra was not classically beautiful, but her remarkable mind, her musical voice, and her uncanny ability to delight the two most powerful men of her age more than made up for this.

HID09801242017

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