| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 1997 Price realized: 2,800 CHF (Approx. 3,529 USD / 2,996 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.68 g, 12 h), Alexandria, autumn 34 BC. CLEOPATR[AE [REGINAE•REG]VM•FILIORVM•REGVM• Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right; below, prow to right. Rev. ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVIC[TA] Bare head of Mark Antony to right; behind, Armenian tiara. Babelon (Antonia) 95. Crawford 543/1. CRI 345. RBW 1832. Sydenham 1210\. Very well centered. Areas of weak strike, otherwise, about very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Cleopatra's and Mark Antony's Alexandrian portrait denarii were traditionally dated to 32 BC. However, their legends and iconography clearly connect them to Antony's campaign against Armenia in 34 BC and the subsequent infamous 'Donations of Alexandria'. Upon Antony's return from what was little more than a looting expedition to distract from his disastrous defeats against the Parthians, a great victory spectacle was organized in the Egyptian capital in which captives were paraded and donatives distributed. Most striking, however, was that the queen and the general distributed titles and kingdoms to themselves and their children, with Cleopatra being named Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt and claiming Cyprus, Libya and central Syria for herself, Alexander Helios 'receiving' Armenia, Media and Parthia, his twin sister, Cleopatra Selene, Cyrenaica and Libya, and Ptolemy Philadelphus Syria, Phoenicia and Cilicia. These donations of what were, with the exception of Egypt proper, mostly either Roman provinces or unconquered lands (such as Media and Parthia) caused great outrage in Roman society. Worst of all was the proclamation of Julius Caesar's and Cleopatra's mutual son, Caesarion, as King of Kings, god, and divi filius ('son of god'), and his appointment as his father's sole legitimate heir. This was a direct challenge to Octavian's claim to power, which stemmed from his adoption by Julius Caesar and the loyalty of the dictator's legions, and would only accelerate the irreversible break between the two most powerful men of the Roman world. Starting price: 250 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 1996 Price realized: 5,500 CHF (Approx. 6,931 USD / 5,885 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Denarius (Silver, 20 mm, 3.24 g, 12 h), Alexandria, autumn 34 BC. CLEOPA[TRAE•REGINAE•REGVM]•FILIORVM•REGVM• Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right; below, prow to right. Rev. ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVICTA Bare head of Mark Antony to right; behind, Armenian tiara. Babelon (Antonia) 95. Crawford 543/1. CRI 345. RBW 1832. Sydenham 1210. Lightly toned and with two very attractive portraits. Slightly rough and with a flan fault on the obverse, otherwise, good very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Cleopatra's and Mark Antony's Alexandrian portrait denarii were traditionally dated to 32 BC. However, their legends and iconography clearly connect them to Antony's campaign against Armenia in 34 BC and the subsequent infamous 'Donations of Alexandria'. Upon Antony's return from what was little more than a looting expedition to distract from his disastrous defeats against the Parthians, a great victory spectacle was organized in the Egyptian capital in which captives were paraded and donatives distributed. Most striking, however, was that the queen and the general distributed titles and kingdoms to themselves and their children, with Cleopatra being named Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt and claiming Cyprus, Libya and central Syria for herself, Alexander Helios 'receiving' Armenia, Media and Parthia, his twin sister, Cleopatra Selene, Cyrenaica and Libya, and Ptolemy Philadelphus Syria, Phoenicia and Cilicia. These donations of what were, with the exception of Egypt proper, mostly either Roman provinces or unconquered lands (such as Media and Parthia) caused great outrage in Roman society. Worst of all was the proclamation of Julius Caesar's and Cleopatra's mutual son, Caesarion, as King of Kings, god, and divi filius ('son of god'), and his appointment as his father's sole legitimate heir. This was a direct challenge to Octavian's claim to power, which stemmed from his adoption by Julius Caesar and the loyalty of the dictator's legions, and would only accelerate the irreversible break between the two most powerful men of the Roman world. Starting price: 500 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 1972 Price realized: 800 CHF (Approx. 1,008 USD / 856 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Mark Antony and Octavian. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.93 g, 12 h), with M. Barbatius, Ephesus (?), 41 BC. M•ANT•IMP•AVG•III•VIR•R•P•C•M•BARBAT•Q•P Bare head of Mark Antony to right. Rev. CAESAR•IMP•PONT•III•VIR•R•P•C• Bare head of Octavian to right. Babelon (Antonia) 51, (Julia) 96 and (Barbatia) 2. Crawford 517/2. RBW 1798. Sydenham 1181. Good very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Starting price: 100 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 2806 Price realized: 480 CHF (Approx. 605 USD / 514 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Diadumenian, as Caesar, 217-218. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.08 g, 12 h), Rome, summer 217-early 218. M OPEL ANT DIADVMENIAN CAES Bare-headed and draped bust of Diadumenian to right. Rev. PRINC IVVENTVTIS Diadumenian standing front in military attire, head to right, holding signum in his right hand and long scepter in his left; to right, two signa. BMC 87. Clay Issue 2. Cohen 3. RIC 102. Well struck and attractive, with a particularly sharp reverse. Extremely fine. From the Joseph Markowitz Collection (1897-1981), brought to Israel in 1949 and kept in the family ever since. Starting price: 100 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 36 | Auction date: 6 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 837 Price realized: 3,000 CHF (Approx. 3,719 USD / 3,197 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Tetradrachm (Silver, 26 mm, 12.77 g, 12 h), Antiochia on the Orontes or a mint further to the South, circa 36 BC. [BACIΛICCA KΛЄ]OΠATPA ΘЄA NЄ[ⲰTЄPA] Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right, wearing earring and necklace. Rev. [AN]TⲰNIOC AYTOKPATⲰP TRIT[ON TPIⲰN ANΔPⲰN] Bare head of Mark Antony to right; behind, horse's head to right. BMC 53. McAlee 174. Prieur 27. RPC I 4095. Porous, otherwise, fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. The tragic romance between Cleopatra and Mark Antony has inspired generations of artists and poets, and the tetradrachms depicting the Queen of Egypt and the Roman general are, unsurprisingly, among the most famous and sought-after coins from the Imperatorial era. The exact location where these coins were struck remains a matter of debate. While they were traditionally attributed to Antiochia on the Orontes, this attribution has been questioned based on stylistic comparisons and the fact that Antiochia was never part of Cleopatra's possessions. Die links reveal that Cleopatra's portrait forms the obverse type, and the use of Greek legends and titles further supports the argument for a mint under her control, likely somewhere in the Levant. What is clear, however, is that minting coins with the portrait of a Hellenistic queen on one side and a Roman general on the other was unprecedented - especially given that Mark Antony was still married to Octavia at the time. This offense undoubtedly played into the hands of Octavian, Octavia's brother, who leveraged Antony's affair with the foreign queen and the alleged betrayal of Roman interests in his political propaganda leading up to and during the civil war. Starting price: 500 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 1994 Price realized: 5,500 CHF (Approx. 6,931 USD / 5,885 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 15.13 g, 12 h), Antiochia on the Orontes or a mint further to the South, circa 36 BC. BACIΛICCA KΛЄOΠ[ATPA ΘЄA NЄⲰTЄPA] Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right, wearing earring and necklace. Rev. ANTⲰNIOC AYTOKPATⲰP TRI[TON TPIⲰN ANΔPⲰN] Bare head of Mark Antony to right. BMC 53. McAlee 174. Prieur 27. RPC I 4094. Nicely toned. Somewhat rough and struck slightly off center, otherwise, very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. The tragic romance between Cleopatra and Mark Antony has inspired generations of artists and poets, and the tetradrachms depicting the Queen of Egypt and the Roman general are, unsurprisingly, among the most famous and sought-after coins from the Imperatorial era. The exact location where these coins were struck remains a matter of debate. While they were traditionally attributed to Antiochia on the Orontes, this attribution has been questioned based on stylistic comparisons and the fact that Antiochia was never part of Cleopatra's possessions. Die links reveal that Cleopatra's portrait forms the obverse type, and the use of Greek legends and titles further supports the argument for a mint under her control, likely somewhere in the Levant. What is clear, however, is that minting coins with the portrait of a Hellenistic queen on one side and a Roman general on the other was unprecedented - especially given that Mark Antony was still married to Octavia at the time. This offense undoubtedly played into the hands of Octavian, Octavia's brother, who leveraged Antony's affair with the foreign queen and the alleged betrayal of Roman interests in his political propaganda leading up to and during the civil war. Starting price: 1000 CHF |  |
