Auction 124 - Session 2
Date: 2023-09-20 00:00:00
Lots: 314
Total starting: $ 0.00
Total realized: $ 0.00 (+0.00%)
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Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 553
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Summer 32 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.79 g, 12h). Athens mint. Bare head right; small P (signature) in hair below ear / ANTONIVS/AVG • IMP • III in two lines. Crawford 542/2; CRI 347; Sydenham 1209; RSC 2; RBW 1831. Lightly toned with some luster, struck slightly off center. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 554
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.75 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG II across lower field. Crawford 544/14; CRI 349; Sydenham 1216; RSC 27; RBW 1838. Toned. Good VF. After Mark Antony left his wife Octavia in Greece to resume his liaison with Cleopatra VII of Egypt in 36 BC, full-scale war for control of the Roman world became inevitable between Antony and Octavian, his fellow triumvir and brother of Octavia. A propaganda campaign began as both sides started marshaling forces and producing the money needed to pay the vastly expanded armies. However, their resources were unequal, with Antony possessing the wealthy eastern provinces and Egypt, while Octavian controlled the relatively impoverished west. Consequently, silver and gold coins struck in Antony's name greatly outnumbered those of Octavian even before the legionary series commenced. Antony's coinage of 34 BC, struck after the infamous Donations of Alexandria, stressed his partnership with Cleopatra, but this provided fodder for Octavian's propagandists, who claimed Antony had become the queen's slave and had ceased being a Roman. In 32 BC, Octavian forced Antony's supporters out of the Senate and obtained a declaration of war against Egypt. Antony anticipated this action and had already begun moving his legions to Greece, with the intention of staging up for an invasion of Italy. It was there, probably at Antony's winter quarters in Patrae, that the legionary denarius entered production in the fall of 32 BC, naming the individual units making up his formidable force. Unusually for the era, the coins eschew any portraiture and instead celebrate both the land and naval components of Antony's military force, with the obverse depicting a war galley under oar, and the reverse depicting a legionary eagle (aquila) flanked by two cohort standards (signa). Antony is identified as the issuer by name and his titles, ANT AVG III VIR R.P.C, abbreviating Antonii auguris, tresviri rei publicae constituendae ("Antony, Augur and Triumvir for the Organizing of the Republic"). The reverses name 22 legions (Legiones II - XXIII); all examples naming a "first legion" (LEG PRI) seem to be forgeries of later eras. Three legions, specifically raised by Antony, receive special names along with their numerals, LEG XII ANTIQVAE ("venerable"), LEG XVII CLASSICAE ("of the fleet"), and LEG XVIII LYBICAE ("Lybian"); coins with the same legionary numeral but no epithet were also struck, making it unclear whether these are the same or different units. Several legionary numerals are also rendered in different forms (i.e. IV and IIII, IX and VIIII, XIX and XVIIII). Thus the actual varieties far outnumber the legions represented. Two specialized units also receive coins: The Praetorian Cohorts, Antony's personal guard, and the Speculatores, or scouts, with the latter signified by specially decorated naval standards. Antony's total forces numbered perhaps 200,000, so as many as 30 million legionary denarii were struck to pay them. Tests have shown the silver alloy employed was about 92% pure, slightly more base than that used by the Rome mint (96%). Oddly enough, this ensured that Antony's legionary denarii remained in circulation for centuries after his defeat at the naval battle of Actium, as the government made no special effort to recall and remint them in the Imperial period, as was frequently done with coins of purer silver. Hoards in the late third century AD still contain significant numbers of heavily worn legionary denarii, a testament to Gresham's Law ("bad money drives out good").
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 555
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 4.08 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG II across lower field. Crawford 544/14; CRI 349; Sydenham 1216; RSC 27; RBW 1838. Attractive iridescent toning. Near EF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex Classical Numismatic Review XVIII.1 (First Quarter 1993), no. 196; Haeberlin Collection (Cahn, 17 July 1933), lot 3095.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 556
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (15mm, 3.95 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG III across lower field. Crawford 544/15; CRI 350; Sydenham 1217; RSC 28; RBW 1839. Toned, obverse graffito. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 557
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16.5mm, 3.74 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG IV across lower field. Crawford 544/17; CRI 352; Sydenham 1219; RSC 30; RBW –. Toned. EF. Well centered and struck.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 558
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.87 g, 12h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG V across lower field. Crawford 544/18; CRI 354; Sydenham 1221; RSC 32; RBW 1840. Toned. Near EF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 559
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16.5mm, 3.84 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VI across lower field. Crawford 544/19; CRI 356; Sydenham 1223; RSC 33; RBW 1841. Lightly toned, minor edge split. Near EF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 560
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.93 g, 3h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VII across lower field. Crawford 544/20; CRI 357; Sydenham 1224; RSC 34; RBW 1842. Toned, reverse off center. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 561
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.62 g, 12h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VIII across lower field. Crawford 544/21; CRI 358; Sydenham 1225; RSC 35; RBW –. Lightly toned with some iridescence, reverse struck slightly off center. Near EF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex CNG inventory 903520 (circa 1991-3).
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 562
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.90 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VIII across lower field. Crawford 544/21; CRI 358; Sydenham 1225; RSC 35; RBW –. Toned, reverse struck slightly off center, a few light scratches on reverse. VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 563
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16.5mm, 3.93 g, 7h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG IX across lower field. Crawford 544/23; CRI 359; Sydenham 1227; RSC 37; RBW –. Lightly toned, obverse struck slightly off center. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 564
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.74 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG IX across lower field. Crawford 544/23; CRI 359; Sydenham 1227; RSC 37; RBW –. Toned, slight off center on obverse, edge split. Good VF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex CNG inventory 903520 (circa 1991-3).
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 565
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16mm, 3.78 g, 11h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VIIII across field. Crawford 544/22; CRI 360; Sydenham 1226; RSC 36; RBW –. Toned, obverse struck slightly off center. VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 566
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16mm, 3.92 g, 10h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG VIIII across field. Crawford 544/22; CRI 360; Sydenham 1226; RSC 36; RBW –. Lightly toned, light hairlines. VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 567
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.81 g, 9h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG X across lower field. Crawford 544/24; CRI 361; Sydenham 1228; RSC 38; RBW –. Toned, obverse struck slightly off center. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 568
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.32 g, 5h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG X across lower field. Crawford 544/24; CRI 361; Sydenham 1228; RSC 38; RBW –. Lightly toned, minor die rust, pair of minor edge marks. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 569
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.84 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XI across lower field. Crawford 544/25; CRI 362; Sydenham 1229; RSC 39; RBW –. Toned, struck slightly off center. EF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 570
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16.5mm, 3.45 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XII across lower field. Crawford 544/26; CRI 365; Sydenham 1230; RSC 41; RBW –. Toned, minor smoothing. Near EF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 75 (23 May 2007), lot 963.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 571
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.76 g, 9h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XII across lower field. Crawford 544/26; CRI 365; Sydenham 1230; RSC 41; RBW –. Lightly toned. Good VF.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 572
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16mm, 3.77 g, 4h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XIII across lower field. Crawford 544/27; CRI 367; Sydenham 1232a; RSC 42; RBW 1844. Lightly toned, light hairlines. Good VF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex CNG inventory 84944 (late 1994 - early 1995); Giessener Münzhandlung 69 (18 November 1994), lot 522.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 124 - Session 2 . 573
The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (16mm, 3.51 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XV across lower field. Crawford 544/30; CRI 371; Sydenham 1235; RSC 47; RBW 1845. Deeply toned. Near EF. From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor. Ex CNG inventory 903520 (circa 1991-3).