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Aureus - Marcus Antonius and Octavia M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N·AVGVR·IMP·TER / COS·DESIGN·ITER·ET·TER·III·VIR·R·P·C
| Issuer | Roman Republic (509 BC - 27 BC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 38 BC |
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| Value | Aureus (25) |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed and draped bust of Marcus Antonius facing right, rendered in bold high relief with strongly modelled features characteristic of late Republican portraiture. The bust displays the triumvir's distinctive square jaw and prominent brow. The encircling legend runs around the periphery of the flan, interrupted by dot separators, and the whole is contained within a border of evenly spaced dots. The field is plain, with no additional devices or symbols. |
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| Obverse lettering | M · ANTONIVS · M · F · M · N · AVGVR · IMP · TER (Translation: Marcus Antonius, son of Marcus, grandson of Marcus, augur, emperor for the third time) |
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| Additional information |
Struck in 38 BC while Antony was based in Athens with Octavia — the sister of Octavian he had married in 40 BC as part of the Treaty of Brundisium — this aureus belongs to a politically charged series issued to project marital harmony and dynastic legitimacy across the eastern Mediterranean. The union was diplomatic theatre as much as anything else; Antony's relationship with Cleopatra had already resumed by the time many of these coins were in circulation.
The lengthy obverse legend advertising his augural office, third imperatorial acclamation, and designated consulships was calculated. Antony needed western audiences to read him as a Roman magistrate, not an eastern potentate. Within four years, Octavia would be sent back to Rome.