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Cleopatra, Cyprus, AE15 VF


Cyprus, Cleopatra VII, 51-30BC, Æ16 (hemi-obol) (3.26g) Neopaphos Mint,
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). VF,
green patina.

The attribution to Cleopatra is taken from the Bank of 
Cyprus catalog. This coin likely circulated as a hemi-obol, 
a half of the broad thin obols RPC 3903 and a quarter of the 
rare diobol, RPC3902, with a very similar reverse type. It
 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.