Lot 2107

Description

Mark Antony Restoration Issue by Marcus Aurelius & Lucius Verus, (A.D. 161-169), silver denarius, Rome mint, issued A.D. 161-169, obv. praetorian galley to left with rowers, around ANTONIVS AVGVR below III VIR R P C, rev. legionary eagle between two standards, around ANTONINVS ET VERVS AVG REST, across field LEG VI, (RIC 443 (Marcus Aurelius), Babelon ii No.56 (p.587), BMCRE 500). Good fine and rare.

Another interesting ship coin, this being a galley without sails. This enigmatic restoration of the legionary denarius of Mark Antony of 32-31 B.C., cannot be readily explained. Only one legion is honoured, the VI Ferrata, and it has been suggested that this unit distinguished itself in the Parthian war of A.D. 163-6. Another possibility is that the coin may be a commemorative of the bicentennial of the battle of Actium, an anniversary which would have fallen at the end of the joint reign of Aurelius and Verus.