Strolling the floor at the Numismata Show which took place last Saturday and Sunday Nov. 3rd/4th I was surprised to find this little coin among the offerings of a Dutch dealer. I was not actively looking for any Roman coins, having my focus currently on minor coinage struck during the Napoleonic era, but I really could not pass this one up. As many of you know, specially through the interesting postings of our friend Bing and others about this coinage, some of the scarcest denarii in Marcus Antonius Legionary series are those dedicated to the four 'named legions', of which Legio VII Classicae is (by far?) the commonest to encounter. To me, however, Classicae has a further special meaning, beyond its service at ACTIVM, and that is the fact that it was one of the three legions (Legio XVII and XIX were the other two) which served under Quinctilivs Varvs, and which were completely decimated at the Battle of the Teutoburger Forest in 9 A.D against an alliance of Germanic tribes led by a Germanic Chieftain, Arminivs. Legio XVII Classicae played a sad and tragic role in the history of the Roman Empire in Germania. Back in 2009 I recounted this epic event in this thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ro...-of-the-teutoburger-forest.55830/#post-610278 "It is said that the fact that this is one of the few names which is not thereafter recorded is due to the fact that the pain and shame of its loss was so deep that all memory of its existence was forever to be forgotten". This is my humble example of LEGIO XVII CLASSICAE: Please post anything you may think is relevant.
Great find! Love the named legions. Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG XII ANTIQVAE ANT AVG III VIR R P C Galley right mast with banners at prow LEG XII ANTIQVAE Legionary eagle between two standards Patrae mint 32-31 BC 3.57g SEAR 1480 Ex-Londinium Coins
Thanks, all. Isn't it great when you find a coin which combines historical significance with (ideally) beauty, as well as some degree of scarcity? This is one of those. Not (by far) one of my better Romans in terms of scarcity, condition, etc, but now one of my favourites.
