Roman, Imperatorial Period. Military mint, probably at Patrae. AR denarius (15 mm, 3.60 g). Marcus Antonius, (ex-)triumvir. Issued autumn 32-spring 31 BC. Obverse: Galley right, legend around ANT AVG IIIVIR R P C (Antonius Augur, Triumvir Rei Publicae Constituendae) (Antony, Augur, [One of] Three Men for Establishing the Republic). Reverse: Legionary eagle between two standards, legend below LEG III (Legion 3). Crawford 544/15, RSC 28. This coin: Purchased from Marc R. Breitsprecher, 2020. Marcus Antonius (usually Anglicized as Marc Antony) is, like his mentor Julius Caesar, such a towering figure that he almost seems to be a fictional character. Indeed, if I say the names "Antony and Cleopatra", you will probably first think of Shakespeare's play (or Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor) rather than Julius Caesar's henchman and the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt. Marc Antony led such an eventful (and well-documented) life that I can't do it justice in this brief outline, but here are the highlights. Marcus Antonius was born in Rome in 83 BC. His father died when he was 12; his mother soon remarried, but his stepfather was executed in 63 BC on orders of Cicero for his role in the Catiline Conspiracy. The young Antony was undisciplined, spending his time drinking, gambling, and having affairs with women (and possibly men, if some sources are to be believed). In 57 BC he started his military career under the Proconsul of Syria, and in 54 BC joined the staff of Julius Caesar in Gaul. In 50 BC, he was sent back to Rome to act as Caesar's agent in the political battle with the Optimates in the Senate, and (probably with Caesar's influence, as Pontifex Maximus the highest priest of official Roman religion) named to the College of Augurs, who interpreted omens and whose approval was required for official business to start. Antony was also elected on of the People's Tribunes for 49 BC, and thus could potentially veto any legislation that was aimed at Caesar. However, the Optimates physically expelled Antony from a Senate meeting, and he fled to Caesar, camped across the Rubicon which marked the border of his command in Gaul. Antony's expulsion provided Caesar with a pretext for moving against the Senate: since Antony was a Tribune, his person was legally inviolable, and it was unlawful to harm him or to ignore his veto attempts. During the Civil War, Antony was named as Governor of Italy while Caesar chased Pompey and his allies around the Mediterranean world. Antony was present at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, where he was Caesar's second in command and helped defeat Pompey's forces. On returning to his post in Italy, Antony had a temporary falling-out with Caesar, but they were reconciled by 44 BC. On February 15, 44 BC, during the major Festival of Lupercalia, Antony publicly offered Caesar a diadem, which Caesar refused. Since the diadem was a symbol of kinghood, this may have been intended to demonstrate that Caesar (who had just been named Dictator for Life the previous day) had no intentions of becoming a king. However, a group of Senators conspired against Caesar, assassinating him on March 15, 44 BC. Antony had accompanied Caesar to the meeting of the Senate, but was detained outside by one of the conspirators so that he couldn't intervene. Immediately after the assassination, Antony became the de facto leader of the Caesarian faction against the Liberatores (as the assassins and their allies styled themselves). Antony quickly negotiated a deal by which the assassins would be pardoned, and all of Caesar's decrees would remain in effect. Caesar's will, surprisingly, did not name Antony as primary beneficiary, instead posthumously adopting Caesar's grandnephew Octavian as his son and chief heir, leaving only a smaller bequest to Antony. Antony masterfully stirred up popular sentiment at Caesar's funeral, leading to rioting and forcing the conspirators to flee Rome. Antony and Octavian initially did not get along, perhaps due to Antony's resentment at being passed over by Caesar in favor of a nineteen-year-old whose sole distinction at that time was his status as Caesar's son. Octavian encouraged Cicero's speeches against Antony in the Senate. However, in late 43 BC, recognizing the need for a united front against the Liberatores, the Second Triumvirate was formed between Antony, Octavian, and another former protege of Caesar's named Lepidus. By the end of 42 BC, the Liberatores were defeated, and Antony was sent to settle Roman affairs in the East. In 41 BC he met Cleopatra VII of Egypt, a Roman client-ruler who had already borne a son of Julius Caesar's named Caesarion. Antony and Cleopatra hit it off, and they spent the winter of 41 BC together in Alexandria. She bore him two children in 40 BC and another in 36 BC. Meanwhile, Antony's wife Fulvia was trying to incite the troops in Italy to revolt against Octavian, and Antony had to return to Italy to shore up his position. The troops of Octavian and Antony refused to fight each other, Fulvia died shortly after of "natural causes", and as a symbol of the rapprochement, Octavian's sister Octavia married Antony in late 40 BC. Around this time, the Triumvirs formally divided the Roman world between them, with Antony taking the East (including Greece, Anatolia, and the Mideast), Octavian taking the West, and Lepidus taking Africa. Antony returned East, where much of his times consumed in war against Parthia. In 40 BC, a Parthian army under Pacores (son and presumptive heir of the Parthian king Orodes II) and Labienus (a former Roman soldier and ally of the Liberatores) invaded Syria, Cilicia, and Judaea. Antony and the Romans were ultimately successful in forcing back the Parthians, and Pacores was killed in battle. Orodes II, wracked with grief, named his son Phraates IV as his new heir. Phraates promptly murdered his father and remaining brothers and established himself on the Parthian throne. Taking advantage of the political disruption, Antony decided to attack Parthia itself. After securing Armenia and the Caucuses, he marched into the Parthian territory of Media Atropatene (Azerbaijan), but was forced to retreat back into Armenia in 36 BC. Meanwhile, the relationship between Antony and Octavian was deteriorating. Lepidus had been forced to resign, leaving Octavian in charge of both the West and Africa. Octavian led a smear campaign against Antony, depicting him as a man of loose morals, a drunkard, and worst of all, as a man who had "gone native" in Egypt and was turning into a degenerate Easterner. Antony, for his part, did nothing to heal the rift, refusing several summons to Rome, distributing various territories in the East to his children by Cleopatra without any consent of the Senate, and declaring Caesarion, Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, to be the legitimate heir of Caesar. This was a clear challenge to Octavian's own rule, which largely derived from his having been adopted as Caesar's son. The Triumvirate officially expired at the end of 33 BC and was not renewed. Antony (still in Egypt) divorced Octavia and accused Octavian of forging his adoption papers. In 32 BC the Senate stripped Antony of his powers and declared war against Cleopatra. A third of the Senators abandoned Rome and traveled to Greece to join with Antony's forces. War started in 31 BC, and in the climactic naval Battle of Actium the forces of Antony and Cleopatra were decisively defeated, and they had to flee to Egypt with just a few ships. In 30 BC Octavian launched an invasion of Egypt, and both Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, leaving Octavian as sole ruler of the Roman world. In 27 BC, Octavian would take the title Augustus, which is considered the start of the Roman Empire. This coin is one of the popular Legionary Denarii. During 32 and 31 BC, in the run-up to war, Antony's forces struck huge numbers of coins to pay the soldiers and sailors being assembled to fight against Octavian. The symbolism of the galley and the military standards is quite clear; the various legions are named on the reverses, perhaps indicating which legion the coin was used to pay. The mention of Antony's title Triumvir is odd, as the Triumvirate had officially expired in 33 BC; perhaps its use is just meant to provide Antony with some legalistic justification for his rule. These coins are known (thanks to analysis of coin hoards) to have circulated for many decades after their issue, as they were a recognized coin of good silver even though their issuer was long since dead and discredited. This example has a lot of wear (as is common for the type), but the main devices and inscriptions are still clear, the surfaces are good, and it is still an attractive coin despite the low technical grade. As for historical interest- well, if you don't find Antony's history fascinating, you obviously stopped reading this long ago. Please post your coins of Marc Antony, or other related coins.
Wow, nice write-up... and nice coin, @Parthicus !!! I have a Legio III also... Roman Imperatorial Marcus Antonius AR Denarius 32-31 BCE Legio III Ship Eagle Standards Sear 1479 Craw 544-15
Thanks for the excellent writeup. This in particular made me remember all the scenes featuring Mark Antony that I enjoyed in HBO's Rome series... ROMAN IMPERATORS. Mark Antony AR Denarius. 3.61g, 17.8mm, Patrae (?) mint, autumn 32 - spring 31 BC. Sear RCV Vol. 1 p. 284, 1483 (this coin illustrated); Crawford 544/8. O: ANT AVG above Praetorian galley right, III VIR R P C below. R: CHORTIVM PRAETORIARVM, Legionary eagle (Aquila) between two standards (signa). Ex Stack's Sale (December 2001), Lot 142; Ex Ponterio & Associates Sale 108 (August 2000), Lot #307; Ex Gerhard Hirsch Auction 179 (21 Sep 1993), Lot 770 From Sear's Roman Coins and their Values, Vol. 1 (Millenium Edition): And the woman he "went native" for: PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM. Kleopatra VII Thea Neotera AE Diobol - 80 Drachmai. 18.02g, 27mm. EGYPT, Alexandreia mint, circa 51-30 BC. Svoronos 1871; SNG Copenhagen 419–21. O: Diademed and draped bust right. R: BACIΛICCHC KΛEOΠATPAC, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopia to left, Π (mark of value) to right. Reportedly ex UCLA Classics Library Collection
Mark Antony (Triumvir) Gens: Antonia Moneyer: Military Mint Coin: Silver Denarius ANTAVG III VIR. R.P.C. - Galley right under oars Leg III - Eagle between standards Mint: Patras ? (32-31 BC) Wt./Size/Axis: 3.11g / 17mm / 12h References: RSC 28 Cr544/15 Syd 1216 Provenances: Savoca Coins Acquisition/Sale: Savoca Coins Internet 21st Blue Auction #978 $0.00 06/19 Notes: Jun 23, 19 - The Gary R. Wilson Collection "ANT AVG | III VIR R P C" ("Antonius Augur | Triumvir rei publicae constituendae") trans. "Antony Augustus (military title), Triumvirate for the Restoration of the Republic"
Great write-up and coin! It is interesting to read about how the ruling class of Rome made alliances and show of unity through marriages and other public displays. With Marcus Antonius and Octavian, you really get the «image is everything» feeling. I suspect there was little love lost between the two, at any point of their cooperation. In the book «Augustus» by A.H.M Jones, the author writes about their first meeting after the death of Caesar, when Octavian asks to get paid the money from Caesars heritage: «(...) He had not got his liquid assets, for Caesars widow Calpurnia had handed over to Antonius not only her late husbands papers, but all his cash, amounting, it was said, to nearly 100 million sesterces. Under the will the heirs had to pay a legacy of 300 sesterces to every Roman citizen; this meant only the urban plebs which received the corn dole, but they numberd 250 000, so that 75 million sesterces was immediately required. Antonius could hardly refuse the lex curatia, though he later had it blocked by tribuns, but he would not part with the money, alleging apparently that most of the sum he had received from Calpurnia was public funds. This may have been true, but it was probably also true that Antonius had spent the money already. Throughout the interview Antonius was unhelpful and even hostile.» Not a great start, then. But here they are a few years later, numismatically united as ever M. Antonius and Octavian denarius, Ephesus 41 BC. RCV 1504.
A must-have type with a great writeup! Legio III was the legion that later brought Elagabalus to power; if that's of interest you might look for this coin of Tyre celebrating the event (not my coin): I chose a Legio X because it was Caesar's favourite:
Great write up and coin @Parthicus Also, great coins all! This type is definitely getting higher and higher on my list of most wanted. Who doesn't want a legionnaire denarius?
Nice write up, thank you! It sure was a mess back then, alliances made and broken again, sons murdering their father, old friends becoming enemies. l'll share my legionary denarius, and a denarius with a portrait of the man himself:
I bought one from CNG last year. Does anyone know if the LEG III is rare? I have no idea which LEG numbers are rare and which are common ones. Mine has a hole on the obverse side, but the hole does not penetrate all the way into the coin.
This probably helps Amount of legionary coins found in hoards. LEG III is not that rare. I have a leg II, not rare either
One can draw a conclusion by reviewing hoard quantities. For example, for Antony's legionary denarii, the following quantities were contained in the Delos Hoard of 1905: CHOR PRAET 6 XII ANTIQVAE 5 XVII CLASSICAE 8 XVIII LYBICAE 4 CHOR SPECVL 9 PRI None II 40 III 25 IIII None IV 28 V 37 VI 36 VII 27 VIII 27 IIX not in Crawford VIIII 15 IX 20 X 28 XI 24 XII 28 XIII 20 XIIII 6 XIV 12 XV 39 XVI 24 XVII 22 XVIII 6 XVIIII None XIX 16 XX 13 XXI 23 XXII 15 XXIII 24 Legions II, VI, VII, VIII, X, XII, XV would appear to be the least scarce, while the top 5 Legions listed above, and Legions IIII, IIX, XVIII, XVIIII would seem to be the most scarce. So to answer the question, Legion III is not rare or even scarce. The conclusion here is that coins from that particular legion are generally available.
