Marcus Antonius Denarius, mint moving with M. Antony 32-31, AR 18mm, 3.71 g. ANT AVG – III·VIR·R·P·C Galley right, with sceptre tied with fillet on prow. Rev. LEG – VIII Aquila between two standards. Babelon Antonia 114. C 35. Sydenham 1225. Crawford 544/21.

Toned and about extremely fine.

Twenty-three legions are honoured by this coinage. Many of these units would have been raised by Antony in the East, as his supply of Italian recruits had had been virtually cut off by Octavian. The style and fabric of the coins is uniform throughout suggesting that the entire series was issued from a single centrally-located mint. As production probably did not commence before the latter part of 32 BC, by which time Antony was already in Greece, it seems logical to seek a mint in this region rather than farther afield. A likely choice would be Antony's headquarters at Patrae, near the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth, where he was to spend the winter of 32/31 BC making final plans for the deployment of troops and naval forces. Actium itself seems an improbable location because of the potential vulnerability of a site so close to the enemy encampment.