Ex. Agora Auctions, Auction 38, 2015.
Roman Republic
Mark Antony (32-31 BC), Denarius 32-31 BC, Patrae mint (?)
Obverse: Praetorian galley, ANT AVG at the top, III VIR R P C at the bottom
Reverse: Aquila between two legionary standards
LEG XIV
Weight 3.5 g
Antony produced a variety of coin types from 44 to 31 B.C., the legionary type is by far his most common and most familiar. It is so-named because of its advertisement of large military units, called legions. His silver denarii bear the name of one of his 23 regular legions or two specialized units (the praetorian cohorts and the cohort of speculatores). The representation of gold aurei seems to have been more limited — coins are only known naming the praetorian guards and eight legions, though over time more are likely to turn up.
Though the series offers great variety because so many legions and units are named, all variants share a single coin type, which features on the obverse a war galley with oars engaged and on the reverse a legionary eagle standard (aquila) between two legionary standards (signa or vexilla).
All of the legionary denarii appear to have been struck circa 32 to 31 B.C. while Antony was in Greece preparing for his war against Octavian. The silver content of Antony’s legionary denarii is low for the era, seemingly because Antony had to stretch his limited resources.
The poor silver quality of these coins would have been unpopular at the time, and their low silver content made them so undesirable in commerce that they remained in circulation for a very long time — sometimes more than 250 years. By the early third century A.D., silver coinage had declined enough in weight and purity that a slick legionary denarius was of similar intrinsic value to a current denarius.
