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Crawford 496/1, ROMAN IMPERATORIAL, Marc Antony, AR Denarius
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Rome. The Imperators.
Marc Antony, 44-31 BCE.
AR Denarius (3.95g; 18mm; 5h).
Military mint travelling with Antony, 42BCE.
Obverse: Antony's bearded head right; M ANTONI - IMP.
Reverse: Facing bust of Sol within distyle temple; III - VIR - R·P·C, around.
References: Crawford 496/1; HCRI 128; Sydenham 1168; BMCRR (Gaul) 62; Antonia 34.
Provenance: Hess Divo 329 (17 Nov 2015) lot 138; J.D. Collection [NAC 72 (16 May 2013) lot 1272]; Gilbert Steinberg Collection [NAC-Spink Taisei (16 Nov 1994) lot 1994]; Numismatic Fine Arts FPL 15 (Jul-Aug 1979) lot 33.
This coin was likely struck shortly after Brutus’s and Cassius’s defeat at Philippi in 42 BCE. Antony is still shown with his beard of mourning (he and Octavian would not shave until Caesar’s assassination was avenged), and it’s likely that the die engravers had not yet been instructed to remove the beard following Philippi. This is the last bearded image of Antony to appear on his coinage. There were two versions of this coin type: one with IMP spelled the standard way, as on this example; the other with IMP ligate. The reverse type emphasizing Sol was a common theme on Antony’s eastern coinage, perhaps reflecting his growing enchantment with eastern Hellenistic culture.
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