PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM. Kleopatra VII Thea Neotera, 51-30 BC

PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM. Kleopatra VII Thea Neotera, 51-30 BC. Æ 21 mm (7.79 g, 2 h). Orthoseia (Phoenicia) mint, regnal year 2 = 36/5 BC. Obv. Diademed and draped bust of Kleopatra VII right. Rev. ΒΑΑΛ ΟΡΘΟCΕΙΑC – Baal of Orthoseia in a biga drawn right by two griffins; in left field LB (year 2). Refs. RPC I 4501; Olivier & Aumaître dies D1/R1; HGC 10, 210; DCA² 815; not in Svoronos. Dark green-brown patina, minor roughness, small obverse scuff and weak strike at lower reverse; nonetheless an excellent portrait and very fine for the elusive Orthoseia series. See Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 129 Lot 350 ($6,500) for similar example.

This rare bronze links Kleopatra VII’s wider Mediterranean ambitions to a local Phoenician cult. Struck in her second regnal year after she retook effective control of Phoenicia in alliance with Mark Antony (36 BC), the coin shows the queen in fully Hellenistic style on the obverse while the reverse honors Baal of Orthoseia, depicted in dramatic fashion driving a griffin-drawn chariot. The pairing advertises Kleopatra’s policy of melding Egyptian-Ptolemaic sovereignty with regional religious identities to secure loyalty and revenues for the coming Parthian campaigns. Orthoseia’s autonomous deity thus rides beside the last Ptolemaic monarch, embodying the blend of local and imperial power that briefly revitalized the coast before Augustus’ victory at Actium ended both Antony’s ambitions and Kleopatra’s dynasty.