Watch List notes:

Roman Imperial Coinage - Marcus Antonius - With Cleopatra - AR Denarius (moving military mint, 32 BC, 3.29g) - CLEOPATRAE REGINAE REGVM FILIORVM REGVM Draped and diademed bust of Cleopatra right / ANTONI ARMENIA DEVICTA Head of Marcus Antonius right, Armenian tiara behind (Crawford 543/1 / Sydenham 1210) - a very rare specimen, several banker's marks, F/VF. Found in Odijk, The Netherlands, januari 2022 (PAN registered)

As the struggle between Marcus Antonius and Octavianus dragged on in the 30s BC, the geographical and political lines became ever more defined. Antonius had become entrenched in the Eastern Mediterranean, and in doing so had allied himself with Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, whose original supporter in Rome, Julius Caesar, had been murdered years before. She had his son, Caesarion, at her side, but she needed an ally like Antonius if she hoped to preserve Egypt from the ever-widening grasp of Rome. Importantly, Antonius was easier to manipulate than Octavianus, who had no sympathy for Cleopatra's motives. Although this woman of blinding intellect may have found her marriage to Antonius a degrading experience, personally, she was crafty enough to realise it was her only chance at survival. Hence, she was probably eager to issue dual-portrait coins, such as the denarius offered here. Little more indication is necessary to recognise that Cleopatra had effectively dominated her husband, the Roman warlord Antonius.