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MARK ANTONY’S LEGIONARY DENARIUSOn February 5, 2018 Coinweek columnist Mike Markowitz published a nice piece about the Legionary Denarius of Mark Antony. -Editor
  Mark Antony (or Marcus Antonius) played a key role in the civil wars that led to the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire – a period numismatists often describe as the “Imperatorial” era. The Latin word imperator at this time meant “commander” or “warlord” rather than “ruler”. Roman coinage in the name of Marcus Antonius extends from 44 to 31 BCE and the so-called legionary denarii issued in 32-31 BCE to pay his army are, by far, the most abundant Roman silver coins. The best estimate is that between 25 million and 35 million pieces were struck (Harl, 60), and tens of thousands survive today. The coin’s obverse shows a galley, sometimes described as Antony’s flagship. The ship has a single bank of eight to 12 oars (the number of oars was probably left to the whim or patience of the die cutter). Above the ship ANT AVG abbreviates the name Antonius along with one of his titles, Augur, a priest of the Roman state religion. The reverse shows a legionary eagle (aquila) between two standards (signa; singular signum), with an inscription identifying one of the units in Antony’s army. The article provides historical background and illustrates several types which can be quite rare, including a dozen gold aurei struck with the same dies as the silver denarii. Be
sure to read the complete article online. -Editor
To read the complete article, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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