Lot 1181
Mark Antony & Octavian. Silver Denarius (3.78 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. Rev. CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right, with slight beard. (Crawford 517/2; HCRI 243; Sydenham 1181; RSC 8). Dark toning. Extremely fine. Estimate $2,250UP
Mark Antony is reported to have lived extravagantly while in the East, exacting large sums from the cities of Asia Minor to finance this lavishness. 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, as well as 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.
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| Realized $2,596 |
