Additionally, the image of the ship on the obverse and the vast number of legions represented on the reverse emphasised the scale and Roman-ness of his military power. In fact, Antony's triumviral position had expired in 34 BC, the year before he began to mint the legionary denarii. A claim to legal legitimacy was advanced by the obverse legend's reference to Antony as one of the triumvirs. The coinage thus avoided reference to Cleopatra and emphasised Antony's role as a Roman commander. Clare Rowan suggests that this was a conscious decision, intended to counter Octavian's claims that Antony had come 'under the spell' of Cleopatra and was working in her interests rather than those of Rome. The absence of Mark Antony's portrait from coinage is a substantial departure from the previous period, when his coinage regularly depicted him and his partner Cleopatra (e.g. This is particularly important since most of the surviving literary evidence was written after Octavian's victory and perpetuates his representation of Antony. The coins provide evidence for the way Mark Antony represented himself and his position in the lead up to his conflict with Octavian (the future Augustus). Significance Ĭoin of Mark Antony ( RRC 543/1, 34 BC), depicting Mark Antony on the obverse and Cleopatra on the reverse. Their silver content is 92.2%, the same as the cistophori (the main coinage in the province of Asia), but lower than contemporary denarii struck at Rome, which had a silver content of 96.84%. The coins weight about 3.9 grammes, which is the normal weight for a denarius coin. A variant issue ( RRC 544/12) has the same obverse design, but a different reverse design, showing three naval standards and the legend CHORTIS SPECVLATORVM (' of the cohort of scouts'). The reverse legend reads LEG ( legionis, 'of the legion'), plus a number (I-XXIII), identifying a specific legion within Antony's forces. On most issues, the reverse shows an aquila, the eagle-standard carried by each legion, between two other military standards.

The legend reads ANT AVG III VIR R P C, an abbreviation of Antonii auguris, tresviri rei publicae constituendae ('' Antony, augur and one of the Triumvirs for organising the Republic). The obverse of all issues shows a galley with an ornamental prow (called an wikt:aplustre) and a mast that slants forward over the bow (called a dolon-mast). The coinage is very large, with 39 distinct issues. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (1975). The coinage is also referred to by numismatists as RRC 544/1-39, after its designation in M. Legionary denarii is the modern name for a series of Roman silver denarius coins issued by Mark Antony in the eastern Mediterranean during the last war of the Roman Republic from 32 to 31 BC, in the lead up to the Battle of Actium. RRC 544/12: Variant legionary denarius, issued in the name of Mark Antony and the cohort of scouts ( cohors speculatorum)

Silver denarius coin