ROMAN. Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Autumn 34 BC. Silver Denarius (2.74g). Alexandria mint (?). Bare head of Mark Antony right; Armenian tiara to left, ANTONI ARME[NIA DEVICTA] around / Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra right; at point of bust, prow right; CLEOPATRAE REGINAE REGVM FILIORVM REGVM around. Crawford 543/1; CRI 345; Sydenham 1210; RSC 1; BMCRR East 179-81; cf. Kestner 3836; RBW 1832. Toned. gF. The consensus of opinion on the date and mint of this coin was relatively uniform until the publication of R. Newman's A Dialogue of Power in the Coinage of Antony and Octavian, AJN 2 (1990), pp. 37-64. Sear, CRI, follows Newman in calling it an issue from Alexandria, struck for Antony's Armenian triumph in the autumn of 34 BC, when the celebrated and enigmatic Donations of Alexandria took place. Newman states that the coinage must belong to 34 BC, the year of Antony's Alexandrian triumph, since it would otherwise lack context. The legends may be translated as: of Antony, Armenia conquered, for Cleopatra, Queen of Kings and of her sons, kings. The Armenian crown behind Antony represents his victorious Roman army, and the prow beneath Cleopatra, which appears on no other Roman coin of hers, stands for the mighty Egyptian fleet; combined, they symbolise the full array of forces that Antony would soon marshal against Octavian. Acquired from MA-Shops; previously with CGB Numismatics, France. (P)

Estimate: AUD 1000