Mark Antony Legionary Denarius

Mark Antony's War Chest

In 32–31 BC, as civil war loomed between Mark Antony and Octavian (the future Augustus), Antony struck enormous quantities of silver denarii at a traveling military mint — likely in Greece — to pay his legions. Each coin bears the number of its legion on the reverse.

This Coin

The obverse shows a war galley, symbolizing Antony's naval power and his alliance with Cleopatra's Egyptian fleet. The reverse depicts a legionary eagle between two standards, with the legion number below. These coins were minted from debased silver (often only 80-90% pure), which kept them in circulation for centuries — Romans preferring to spend the "bad money" and hoard the pure coins.