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Aureus - Mark Antony ANT·AVG III·VIR·R·P·C / LEG IV
| Issuer | Roman Republic (509 BC - 27 BC) |
|---|---|
| Year | 32 BC - 31 BC |
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| Value | Aureus (25) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A legionary aquila (eagle standard) stands erect in the centre of the field, flanked symmetrically on either side by a legionary signum (military standard). The three standards are rendered in a schematic but unmistakable manner, evoking the military might of the specific legion honoured. The legend LEG IV appears in the lower field between the bases of the outer standards, identifying this issue as struck for the Fourth Legion. The design is enclosed within an inner linear circle, with a plain field beyond. |
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| Additional information |
These aurei were struck at a mobile mint traveling with Antony's forces as he prepared for the confrontation that would end at Actium in 31 BC. The legionary series — of which this is the aureus companion to the far more common silver denarii — funded what was arguably the largest military mobilization in the late Republic, with Antony fielding somewhere around 500 warships and 19 legions. Legio IV had a long Republican pedigree and served Antony through the Parthian campaigns of 36 BC before being present at his final defeat.
The aureus denomination made these far less practical as soldier pay than the denarii struck from the same dies, and surviving examples are genuinely rare.