Denarius - Mark Antony LEG VIII

Struck in a mobile military mint traveling with Antony's forces in the eastern Mediterranean, these legionary denarii were produced in enormous quantities to pay the troops assembling for the confrontation with Octavian that would culminate at Actium in 31 BC. The silver is notoriously debased — fineness running well below Republican standards — which is why they circulated for generations after Antony's defeat, turning up in hoards well into the second century AD.

LEG VIII refers to Legio VIII, one of the veteran legions that had served under Caesar. The sheer volume struck across all legionary issues means individual examples are common; the rarity gradient runs by legion number, with some issues orders of magnitude scarcer than others.