103290 | FRANCE. Marcus Antonius & Cleopatra copper Medal.

103290  |  FRANCE. Marcus Antonius & Cleopatra copper Medal. Issued 1966 (69mm, 192.86 g, 12h). Imitating a tetradrachm from circa 34-32 B.C.E, likely issued in Antioch.

 

ANTѠNIOC AVTOKPATѠP TRITON TPIѠN ANΔPѠN, bare head of Marcus Antonius right // BACIΛICCA KΛЄOΠATPA ΘЄA NЄѠTЄPA, diademed bust of Cleopatra right, wearing earring, necklace, and embroidered dress. Edge: 1966 «cornucopia» CUIVRE No. 4/500.

 

Gem Mint State. Glossy red-bronze surfaces.

 

Part of a series of ancient coins struck in much larger medallic form by the Paris mint in the mid 1960s to early 1970s, these examples serve as direct analogs to renaissance issues like Paduans and Cavinos, which themselves were fairly faithful imitations of ancient coinage. Here, one of history's most famous "power couples" is presented—Marcus Antonius (better known by the anglicized Marc Antony) and Cleopatra. Cleopatra, queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, had previously been romantically involved with Julius Caesar before his assassination in 44 BCE. By the following decade, she had allied herself with Caesar's best friend and right-hand man, Marc Antony, and the couple had their own torrid affair which produced twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, along with Ptolemy Philadelphos. Following a defeat at Actium by Octavian, Antony would commit suicide in early August 30 BCE, with Cleopatra's own suicide occurring less than two weeks later. The popular tradition is that she was poisoned by a snake bite, though the exact manner in which the poison was introduced into her body still remains a point of contention.

 

Upload: 2 September 2025.

 

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