Mark Antony and Octavian. AR Denarius

Mark Antony and Octavian. AR Denarius (21 mm, 3.78 g, 12 h). Ephesus (?), 41 BC. Moneyer: M. Barbatius.

Obv. M•ANT•IMP•AVG•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.

Refs: Babelon Antonia 51, Julia 96, Barbatia 2; Crawford 517/2; Sydenham 1181; RBW 1798.

A historically charged issue struck in the East in 41 BC, as the uneasy alliance between Mark Antony and the youthful Octavian—the future Augustus—struggled to hold in the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. The moneyer, M. Barbatius Pollio, had been a quaestor of Julius Caesar and transferred his loyalty to Antony after Caesar’s death, ensuring continuity of Caesar’s faction in the coinage.

The type is remarkable for presenting the heads of the two triumvirs on opposite sides of the same coin: Antony on the obverse, Octavian on the reverse, each identified by his full list of titles as imperator and triumvir rei publicae constituendae (one of three men for the restoration of the Republic). This equal billing reflects the precarious balance of power that existed between the two men at this time, just months before their falling-out and the renewed civil wars that would culminate in Actium.

Condition: Beautifully toned, well-centred and struck, with portraits of high style.