PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony, rulers of the East (37-31 BC). AE (19mm, 4.17 gm, 12h). VF, tooled Coele Syria, Chalcis, 32/1 BC. BACIΛICCHC KLEOΠA-TPA, diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra right / ETOYC KA TOY KAI E ΘEAC NEΩTEPAC, bare head of Antony right. RPC I 4771. Clear portraits of the famous couple. Evidence of tooling, thus ineligible for encapsulation. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Electronic Auction 138 (26 April 2006), lot 171. Among the many "gifts" bestowed by Antony on Cleopatra was sovereignty over the lands of Coele Syria, now the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, with its profitable trade in luxury goods such as cedar wood and exotic spices. This put Cleopatra in direct conflict with Herod the Great of Judaea, who coveted the same lucrative markets, and led to his siding with Octavian in the Civil War. SOLD AS IS, NO RETURNS. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

To the auctioneer's website