Well, I just added another legion to my growing Mark Antonius Legionary Denarius. I now have eight (8) of the twenty some odd legions associated with MA. The latest is Leg XX Mark Antonius AR Denarius OBV: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Praetorian galley, thyrsos behind prow REV: LEG XX, eagle between standards Struck at Patrae, 32-31 BC RSC 57 BTW, thanks John (Eng), for thinking of me when you saw this coin for sale on this forum's sale site.
Just a little history of the legion from Wikipedia: XX Valeria Victrix was part of the great army that campaigned against the Cantabrians in Hispania Tarraconensis from 25 to 13 BC. The legion then moved to Illyricum, and is recorded in the army of Tiberius operating against the Marcomanni in AD 6. From there, they were withdrawn to fight the Pannonian uprising. In Illyria they were led by the governor of Illyricum Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus, who may have given his clan (gens) name Valeria to the legion. Although understrength, they managed to defeat the rebels led by Bato of the Daesitiates. In one battle the legion cut through the enemy lines, was surrounded, and cut its way out again. After the disaster of Varus in 9 AD, XX Valeria Victrix moved to Germania Inferior and was based at Oppidum Ubiorum, then moved to Novaesium at the site of modern Neuss during Tiberius' reign. The legion was one of the four with which Claudius invaded Britain in 43. It was also one of the two legions that defeated Caratacus at the Battle of Caer Caradoc, after which, from the AD 50s, it was encamped at Camulodunum, with a few units at Kingsholm in Gloucester and a garrison at Wroxeter. In AD 60 or 61 the XX helped put down the revolt of queen Boudica, after having routed the Ordovice by crossing Menai Strait in Wales to destroy the Druids' sacred groves in 58. The Legio XX built Deva Victrix (now Chester), a roman castrum shown in the figure. The Legio stationed in Roman Britain until the beginning of the fifth century The legion was then based at Deva Victrix. In the year of the four emperors, the legion sided with Vitellius. Some units went with him to Rome. In 78-84 AD, the legion was part of Gnaeus Julius Agricola's campaigns in northern Britain and Scotland, and built the base at Inchtuthil. In 88 AD the legion returned south and occupied Castra Devena Deva Victrix, where it remained for at least two centuries. The Twentieth was among the legions involved with the construction of Hadrian's Wall, and the discovery of stone altars commemorating their work in Caledonia suggests that they had some role in building the Antonine Wall. During the reign of the usurper emperors Carausius and Allectus (286-293 and 293-296 AD) the XX Valeria Victrix was still active. No further information is known after this period and scholars believe the XX legion was still stationed in Britain when the usurper Constantine III pulled the bulk of the military forces from there in the year 407 for his doomed campaign on the continent. This legion has been much studied; at least 250 members of the legion have been identified in surviving inscriptions
I don't think I know that answer John. I do know that the CHORTIVM PRAETORIARVM and CHORTIVS SPECULATORES are two of the more difficult and expensive issues.
*Ignores all the posts Valeria Victrix... A very important legion, one of the four that invaded Britain... Great, Historical Pickup Bing!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Actually, this coin was found 8 months ago on a farm in Cheshire by a metal detectorist. I currently have the following Legionary coins: II V VI XI XII XIII XV XX
Super-score!! => awesome coin, Bing!! => yah, I have "0" of these coins so far .... but you are definitely getting some traction into collecting this set!! (congrats) ... it seems a bit over-whelming, so I have kind of avoided starting this endeavour, but I am very jealous that you're kickin' arse with your efforts!! (congrats, my friend!!) ... it is always such a nice feeling when you earn another notch in the ol' holster, eh? (well done!!) :high5:
When you fisish your set of these, be sure to add a 200th anniversary issue by Aurelius and Verus. Who has an idea of why LEG VI was selected for the reissue?
I have two guesses: 1. They used a coin/ coins of Legio VI as the model for this issue 2. The coins of Legio VI were the most common at the time this was minted
Yes, one of the great mysteries of the era. The Lost Legion. They went out on a march and just disappeared enroute. Thousands of men with tons of gear. Only a few stragglers who had no usable info survived. Of course obviously they were killed by someone, but no trace of the battle site or the corpses was ever found, and no one immediately claimed credit, which is what qualifies it as a mystery.
My preferred theory is that the Celts ambushed them, and the Romans decided to cover it up, lest they end up with turmoil in other parts of the empire. However, other theories ranging from lost fighting the Parthians, fighting the Germanic Tribes, disbanded, etc. are all possible. All we know is that the last we hear of the 9th Hispania is that they were building a Legionary fortress ~110 AD, and some of their more senior officers from ~120 AD. After this, they disappear.
