Mark Antony & Octavian Silver Denarius 41BC

Mark Antony & Octavian Silver Denarius 41BC
18x21mm, 3.85g

This type honours the second triumvirate, which was set up shortly after the assassination of Julius Caesar (44BC) and comprised his adoptive heir Octavian, and allies Mark Antony and Lepidus, resulting in the end of the Roman Republic. Both obverse and reverse legends refer to each as ‘one of three men for the regulation of the republic’, the third Lepidus, was effectively eliminated from the battle for power which subsequently developed.
Disagreements ensued between Antony and Octavian, which were not helped by his relationship with Cleopatra of Egypt. Ongoing hostilities erupted into civil war in 31 BC, when the Roman Senate, under Octavian’s instruction, declared war on Cleopatra and proclaimed Mark Antony as a traitor. Later in that year, Antony was defeated by Octavian’s forces at the Battle of Actium, following which Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide.

An appealing coin with signs of mint lustre.