Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Mark Antony & Octavian. Silver Denarius (3.76 g), 41 BC. Ephesus. M. Barbatius Pollio, quaestor pro praetore. M ANT I(MP) (AV)G III VIR R P C M BARBAT Q P, bare head of Mark Antony right. Reverse CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right. Crawford 517/2; HCRI 243; Sydenham 1181; RSC 8a. Boldly struck on a broad flan. Beautiful old cabinet toning with hints of iridescense. Superb Extremely Fine.

Mark Antony is reported to have lived extravagantly while in the East, and he exacted large sums from the cities of Asia Minor to finance this lifestyle. It is certainly from these funds where he obtained the bullion to produce this extensive and handsome coinage, struck with the name of his lieutenant M. Barbatius Pollio. Pollio's colleagues, M. Cocceius Nerva (a distant ancestor of the future emperor Nerva) and L. Gellius Poplicola, also struck similar types honoring both Antony's fellow triumvir, Octavian and his brother, Lucius Antony, but the majority are of a different style and are believed to have been struck after Antony's departure from Ephesus.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000.
Ex LHS 100 (23-24 April 2007), 455.