Here are my two latest MA legionary Denarii. With these additions I now have representations of 21 of Mark Anthony's legions. I wish I had a good resource of information about each legion. I could find precious little about these legions on the internet, but perhaps I am looking in the wrong places. If anyone here has a good resource you could recommend, I'b be very grateful if you would share it. First, is a rather common legion, Legio X. As someone pointed out in another thread, these are hard to find well centered and mine is no exception. Legio X Equestris (Tenth mounted legion), a Roman legion, was levied by Julius Caesar in 61 BC when he was the Governor of Hispania Ulterior. The Tenth was the first legion levied personally by Caesar and was consistently his most trusted. The name Equestris was applied after Caesar mounted legionaries from the Tenth on horses as a ruse in a parley with the German King Ariovistus in 58 BC because he did not trust his Gallic cavalry auxiliaries from the Aedui tribe. Legio X was famous in its day and throughout history because of its portrayal in Caesar's Commentaries and the prominent role the Tenth played in his Gallic campaigns. Its soldiers were discharged in 45 BC. Its remnants were reconstituted, fought for Mark Antony and Octavian, disbanded, and later merged into X Gemina. MARCUS ANTONIUS AR Denarius OBVERSE: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Praetorian galley, thyrsos behind prow REVERSE: LEG X, legionary eagle between two standards Patrae 32-31 BC 3.8g, 17mm Cr 544/24; Sydenham 1228; RSC 38 ex. Marti Classical Numismatics The second coin represents Legio XVIII LYBICAE. I could find no real information regarding this legion or it's name other than the following: The Eighteenth was founded in 41 or 40 BCE, after the battle of Philippi . Its founder may have been Caesar's heir Octavian, who needed new units to put an end to Sextus Pompeius' occupation of Sicily, which put the grain supply of Rome into peril. The first generation of soldiers may have consisted of veterans of the army of Brutus and Cassius; inscriptions suggests that other recruits came from northern Italy. When Pompeius was defeated, Octavian and his fellow-triumvir Mark Antony fell out and started a war, which culminated in the naval battle off Actium where Octavian defeated Anthony. The possibility that the eighteenth legion is identical to the eighteenth legion Lybica of Marc Antony, can not be excluded, but is less likely than the theory that this unit was founded by Octavian. In 30 or 14 BCE, veterans were settled in the Veneto, which suggests that the recruits were from Gallia Cisalpina. MARCUS ANTONIUS AR Denarius OBVERSE: ANT AVG III VIR R P C, Praetorian galley, thyrsos behind prow REVERSE: LEG XVIII LYBICAE, legionary eagle between two standards Patrae 32-31 BC 3.5g, 18mm Cr544/11, Syd 1240 ex. Marti Classical Numismatics So, once again, if you can refer me to a good resource for information on these legions, I would be in your debt.
Wonderful examples @Bing Hopefully, someone can be of some help since I seem to have the same difficulty.
Great coins @Bing You are assembling a wonderful collection of legionary denarii. Congrats on these two pickups, they are great additions. I particularly like the Lybicae.
I love that Legio X! Here are my brief notes on the history of that legion: X Equestris/Gemina - formed by Caesar in 61BC in Spain, always his most trusted legion. Most important legion in Gallic wars. Britain. Civil war, incl. Pharsalus. Africa in 46. Disbanded 45 BC (settled at Narbonne), reconstituted by Lepidus in 44/43. Philippi. Antony in Parthian campaign, civil war vs. Octavian. Rebelled under Augustus, disbanded, veterans mixed in to form X Gemina. Spain. Pannonia under Nero. Lower Rhine under Vespasian. Defeated rebellion in 89. Moved to Danube by Trajan. Parthia under Verus, Germany w/ Aurelius. Sided with Severus. Awarded Pia VI Fedelis VI by Gallienus. Mentioned in 4th century. Symbol: bull.
Great coins Bing and a very informative write-up. You are assembling a very nice collection -- congratulations.
It is a cool story how Caesar mounted his Legio X as a ruse during a parley with King Ariovistus. There is a lot more to the story than this Wiki article, and you can imagine how "prepared" foot Legionaries were when they were in the saddle... But, Caesar pulled it off to impress on the Germans a WHOLE MOUNTED LEGION. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_X_Equestris RImp Marc Antony 32-31 BCE AR Legio X Equestris - Caesar Denarius B bankers mark Eagle Galley Standards (The "B" bankers mark was stamped in antiquity in anticipation of my future capturing this coin into my collection. ~Brian - yeah, TRUE story for @TIF )
THAT may explain things... A WHOLE inexperienced MOUNTED foot-soldier Legion might had been a problem. However, a Cohort could had been picked from horse-experienced soldiers within a whole Legion. LOL, still, the thought of a WHOLE Mounted Legion is purdy cool...
