Triton XXI, Lot: 1. Estimate $5000. Sold for $9000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Kleopatra VII Thea Neotera. 51-30 BC. Æ Diobol – 80 Drachmai (27mm, 14.21 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Diademed and draped bust right / BACIΛICCHC KΛEOΠATPAC, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopia to left, Π to right. Svoronos 1871; Weiser 183; SNG Copenhagen 419-21; BMC 4-5; Noske 382; Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 1 (this coin). EF, attractive reddish brown patina with traces of green. Excellent portrait.

From the Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection, purchased from Numismatica Aretusa SA (Lugano–Franco Chiesa), March 1978.

Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, was one of the most celebrated personalities of the ancient world. She is depicted here in her jubilant years, shortly after her ascension to the throne, circa 49 to 46 BC. This portrait of Cleopatra corresponds to the rare original marble, with its mutilated nose, which is preserved in the Vatican Museum (Museo Gregoriano Profano, Inv. 38511) – it was found in 1784 at the Villa dei Quintili on the Via Appia near Rome.