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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 2705869, member: 83956&quot;]The reason these legionary denarii are so worn is because they circulated for a REALLY long time. Apparently their silver content was somewhat debased. People tended to hoard or save good silver and spend bad silver. &quot;Bad money drives out good.&quot; At least that&#039;s my understanding of the worn nature of these coins. Others please correct my assumptions if necessary. Here are two blurbs I found in my notes to my Antony denarius:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Most likely minted in Patrae, Marc Antony’s winter headquarters. Some believe that the legionary denarii were minted from Cleopatra’s silver stores just prior to the Battle of Actium.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>“Mark Antony minted these coins from silver he received in Cleopatra&#039;s dowry, but there wasn&#039;t enough to pay his troops! So these coins were minted at a slightly lower standard than other Roman issues of the time. This sent Greek bankers into a frenzy, and for a time they tested all Roman silver. Antony&#039;s denarii nearly always have a shallow &quot;banker&#039;s mark&quot;, while Octavian&#039;s and other issues of Antony that were tested often show a deeper punch. The reason? Pure silver is softer. And why are these legionary denarii so hard to find in high grade? Bad money replaces good; these legionary denarii circulated into the reign of Gallienus.” –CNG description.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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