ORC7612 Time of Cleopatra, AE17 of Cyprus, F
$33.00
Dec-01-00
oldromancoins.com


               ORC7612 Time of Cleopatra, AE17 of Cyprus, F

     Ptolemaic Cyprus, time of Cleopatra VII, 51-30BC, Æ17 (3.37g)
     Laureate head of Zeus to right. / No legend. Zeus standing head
     to right, holding ears of corn on single stalk(?) in right hand
     and a scepter in the left hand; star above head. BMC-; Svor.-;
     SNG Cop.-; RPC-; RPC Supplement; Cox, Excavations at Curium, 128;
     Lichochka, Un type de Zeus sur les monnaies hellenistiques de Nea
     paphos, 5-6 (dated to mid-1st century BC); Museum of the History
     of Cypriot Coinage, Coin catalogue, Bank of Cyprus Cultural
     Foundation, Nicosia 1996 Ch11, coin #35 (as Cleopatra VII). F,
     grainy dark tone.

     The attribution to Cleopatra is taken from the above Bank of
     Cyprus catalog. The lack of a defined weight standard makes these
     late Ptolemaic, not from c. 205 BC. The lack of any reverse
     legend argues for a Ptolemaic ruler who is not named Ptolemy.
     This coin likely circulated as a hemi-obol, a half of the broad
     thin obols RPC3903 and a quarter of the rare diobol, RPC3902,
     with a very similar reverse type. A coin of 200 BC would have a
     constant weight standard (cf. Svor. 1008 for a Cyprus mint coin
     of the 200 BC period) because bronze was valued at its full metal
     weight. By the time of Cleopatra, bronze was a token coinage.