Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Michael Stolt, post: 3518201, member: 100445&quot;]After a 5 month and 5 day long wait for export clearance from Italy, it&#039;s finally here. It&#039;s heavy, it&#039;s huge (40 mm!!) and it&#039;s extremely rare (3rd or 4th known heavy Sestertius issued by Oppius Capito to my knowledge). The heaviest denomination in Mark Antony&#039;s rare &quot;fleet coinage&quot;. And in 14 days the fleet will grow even more as I will also have the Tressis (a very unusual denomination) in my hands <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.ancientcoingallery.net/Files/Images/Coinsite/CoinDB/antonysmallcroped-11111.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Mark Anthony, with Octavia. Circa 38-37 BC. Æ Sestertius (40mm, 30.16 g). M. Oppius Capito, propraetor and praefectus classis. Minted at Piraeus(?).</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse: M ANT • IMP TER COS DES ITER ET TER III VIR R• P • C •, bare head of Anthony right vis-à-vis head of Octavia left.</p><p><br /></p><p>Reverse: M • OPPIVS • CAPITIO • P[R) • PR • PRAEF • CLASS • F • C • - Mark Anthony and Octavia in quadriga of hippocamps; in l. field, HS and below, Δ and astragalus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Reference: RPC I 1462.3</p><p><br /></p><p>Provenace: Aste Bolaffi, Auction 33 (29 November 2018), lot 310.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;This unusual coin is an example of Mark Anthony&#039;s &quot;fleet coinage,&quot; a series of bronzes in multiple, clearly marked denominations issued shortly after Antony&#039;s marriage alliance with Octavian, the nephew of Julius Caesar. The exact dates, the nature and purpose of the series have been the subject of much debate. David Sear places the commencement of the series in the summer of 38 BC at a still unidentified Eastern mint. The coins were struck in the names of Antony and three of his admirals--L. Sempronius Atratinus, M. Oppius Capito, and L. Calpurnius Bibulus, and falls into two distinct series, &quot;heavy&quot; and &quot;light.&quot; Most of the coins depict overlapping, confronting or Janiform portraits of Antony and Octavia, his wife and Octavian&#039;s sister. A few also show Octavian, in a clearly subsidiary position. Reverses almost all feature nautical themes--galleys under full sail, or figures in chariots drawn by hippocamps. The admiral&#039;s names, themes, and the combination of Greek and Latin letters indicate the coins may have been used to pay sailors in Antony&#039;s fleet, and were intended for circulation in his Eastern realm. An intriguing feature of the series is the range of denominations, all Roman, all clearly marked in Greek letters. They range from a large bronze sestertius, previously a small silver coin, marked HS in Latin and the Greek letter-numeral D, or four, indicating a value of four asses. Next comes an unusual denomination, the tressis, or three asses, marked G; then the dupondius, two asses, marked B; and the as, marked A. The series is completed by two fractions, a semis and quadrans, marked S and with three dots (three unciae) respectively.</p><p><br /></p><p>M. Oppius Capito was Antony’s senior naval officer, stationed at the main naval base at Piraeus. His coins are found distributed around central Greece, and were most likely struck at Piraeus. His coins are found in two series, a heavy and a light and it has been suggested that some were struck at Tarentum where part of Antony’s fleet was based during the joint action against Sextus Pompey in 37-36 BC</p><p><br /></p><p>Although this experimental coinage was short-lived and very rare today, it is interesting to note that the great currency reform started by Octavian, after he had taken the name Augustus and become the first Emperor of Rome, resulted in a bronze coinage using exactly the same denominations as Anthony&#039;s fleet issues.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in