Pre-Long Beach Auction #84

Mark Antony. Silver Denarius (3.5 g), 40 BC. Uncertain mint, perhaps Corcyra. Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, imperator. ANT IMP III VIR R P C, bare head of Mark Antony right; behind, lituus. Reverse: CN DOMIT AHENOBARBVS IMP, prow right; above, star of sixteen rays. Crawford 521/2; HCRI 258; Sydenham 1179; RSC 10. Outstanding portrait and well centered, some dark deposits scattered around. Choice Very Fine.

Originally a Pompeian loyalist, Ahenobarbus allied with Brutus and Cassius after the Ides of March. After Philippi he engaged the fleet of the triumvirs under the command of Domitius Calvinus, inflicting a resounding defeat for which he was hailed imperator by his troops. Subsequently, however, he joined Antony in opposing Octavian, but then after becoming disgusted by Antony's alliance with Cleopatra he switched sides again, deserting to Octavian shortly before Actium. Aside from his involvement in the civil wars that racked Rome in the latter half of the first century BC, Ahenobarbus is also remembered for being the paternal great-grandfather of the future emperor Nero.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000.