ROMAN REPUBLIC 43 - 31 - Lot 95

ROMAN REPUBLIC 43 - 31 Legion denarii of Mark Antony : Legion V (countermark), Legion VI, Legion X, Legion XVIII, Legion XX (countermark). Five silver denarii. B and T.B. These Legion denarii would have been struck between 32 and 31 just before or during the sea battle of Actium. The minting would therefore have been carried out at Mark Antony's winter headquarters in Patras (Greece). Each legion was honored with a coin. There were twenty-three legions, as well as the Praetorian cohorts, an elite corps under the authority of the Prefects of the Pretorium, and the cohort speculatorum, specialized in observation and reconnaissance. Following a defeat at the battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide together.