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Crawford 544/10, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Antony Legion XVII Classicae Denarius
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Rome. The Imperators.
Marcus Antonius, 44-31 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.41g; 20mm).
Military Mint traveling with Antony, 32-1 BCE.
Obverse: ANT AVG LLL VIR R P C; galley facing right.
Reverse: LEG XVII CLASSICAE; Aquilia between two standards.
References: Crawford 544/10; Sydenham 1238; HCRI 373; BMCRR East 223; Antonia 128
Provenance: Ex Nomisma 58 (6 Nov 2018) Lot 214.
Produced by Antony in the lead-up to his final defeat at Actium by Octavian’s navy (commanded by Agrippa), the legionary series was a huge issue that recognized 23 legions under Antony’s command. These coins would continue to circulate throughout the Empire for several centuries after Antony’s loss, partly because their notoriously debased silver discouraged hoarding. Only 8 examples of the LEG XVII Classicae type appeared in the 1905 Delos hoard of 604 Antony Legionary denarii.
The Legio XVII Classicae was likely a legion of marines formed by Antony and disbanded after Actium. They were not the Legio XVII destroyed at Tuetoburg Forest under Varus in 9 CE.
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