Coins of Marcus Antonius

Following the assassination of Caesar in 44 BCE, Rome was plunged into chaos. Many of Caesar’s conspirators, including M. Junius Brutus and C. Cassius Longinus, (Brutus and Cassius) fled Rome in fear of reprisal. Caesar’s ally, M. Antonius (Marc Antony) seized control during the power vacuum, with the conspirators on the run and Caesar’s designated heir, G. Octavius Thurinus, (Octavian) still with an army in Macedonia. He returned to Rome with a new name, G. Julius Caesar Octavianus.

This left Octavian in command of all of their eight legions. Octavian began negotiations with Antony.

In the spring of 43 BCE, Octavian, along with the consuls Aulus Hirtius and G. Vibius Pansa Caetronianus, conquered Antony and his five legions at the Battle of Mutina in Cisalpine Gaul. Though victorious, Hirtius was killed and Pansa died of possible poisoning.

Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus established a three-man dictatorship.

Antony, desperate to retain troops, began to strike one of the more iconic series of coinage in Rome’s history, the legionary denarius. The legionary denarii were the largest issue of silver coinage produced in the late Republican period. Mark Antony’s Legionary Denarii celebrate his many legions – 23 of them, with two extra coins celebrating additional cohorts. They were struck in a lower-purity alloy of silver and copper and remained in circulation for centuries.

The coins allude directly to the events of the day, as they feature a praetorian galley. On September 2, 31 BCE, the forces of Octavian and M. Vipsanius Agrippa defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, a promontory between the Ambracian Gulf and the Ionian Sea. Antony and Cleopatra were forced to retreat for Egypt. The final defeat was the Battle of Alexandria on August 1, 30 BCE. It was the official end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Roman Empire.

Aureus bearing the portraits of Mark Antony (left) and Octavian (right). Struck in 41 BC, this coin was issued to celebrate the establishment of the Second Triumvirate.

Marcus Antonius portrait. Denarius, 42 B.C. Mark Antony and Cleopatra. 34 BC.

38 BCE Marcus Antonius aureus minted in Athens during the Second Triumvirate, representing the brief political alliance between Mark Antony and Octavian. Aureus of Antony and his son Antyllus. 34 BC.

The Five Good Emperors

The five Good Emperors refers to the succession of Nerva (96–98 CE), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (161–180). They presided over the most majestic days of the mighty Roman Empire.

After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180, the empire quickly descended into chaos which was not ended until the assassination of Commodus (December 31, 192 AD) and the triumph of Septimius Severus. With Commodus' murder, the Nerva–Antonine dynasty came to an end. Turmoil continued until the 'Year of the Five Emperors'. The Roman Empire would never be as great again.

193 AD was a period of intense civil war and political chaos in the Roman Empire following the assassination of Commodus. Five men, Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus claimed the throne, ultimately leading to the rise of the Severan dynasty.

Nerva

Trajan

Hadrian

Antoninus Pius

Marcus Aurelius

Hadrian

Hadrian was the third of the Five Good Emperors and reigned during the peak of Roman power. (117–138) Hadrian was born in Italica, in the present-day Andalusian province of Seville in southern Spain. Hadrian married, through arrangement, Vibia Sabina, grandniece of the ruling emperor, Trajan, and his second cousin once removed. His marriage was unhappy and childless.

His ascension was controversial as his predecessor Trajan hadn't chosen a successor until he was on his deathbed. Trajan’s wife Plotina sent a letter to the Senate declaring Hadrian as the new heir. It was only after the appointment that the Senate was informed Trajan had died. Hadrian had a successful reign. He completed many building projects, including the Vallum Aelium. (Hadrian’s Wall)

Hadrian was a military expert, but his reign saw little conflict. Hadrian's last years were marred by chronic illness.

Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Hadrian selected Lucius Aelius Caesar to succeed him, but Aelius died suddenly. As an alternative Hadrian appointed Antoninus Pius with the provision that he would then choose Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as his successors. Pius agreed, and the Golden Age of Rome continued. Hadrian kept a beard, and all his coins show him bearded. Some accounts suggest it hid his facial battle scars.

A quality Hadrian aureus (VF or better) is always desirable and will bring at least $10k.

The Boscoreale Treasure

The Boscoreale Treasure is a large collection of exquisite silver and gold Roman objects discovered in the ruins of the Villa della Pisanella at Boscoreale, near Pompeii. It consists of 109 pieces of silverware, as well as gold jewellery (necklaces, bracelets and earrings) and over 1000 gold coins. Items from the hoard date from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD. Many of the silver items from the treasure are considered masterpieces of Roman art that could only have belonged to the elite.

Boscoreale was buried by volcanic ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Skeleton cups of the Boscoreale Treasure

Among those who escaped Mt. Vesuvius was the owner of Villa Pisanella, a popular wine producing villa. It's believed that the owner was Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, a wealthy merchant and banker who was the son of a freed slave.

In 1895, 109 gold and silver plates and hundreds of gold aurei were found.

The coins were stored in an empty cistern in the wine cellar. With a general exchange rate of one aureus as pay for one month of work, it is a significant sum.

The coins are known as “Boscoreale” aurei because of the distinctive toning found on many of them. Gold itself is inert, but when made into coins, it is alloyed with small amounts of silver and copper which are susceptible to toning.

Over the 1,800 years that the coins spent buried beneath the ash and pumice from Vesuvius, some examples developed significant toning.

Augustus aureus - £480,000

This aureus was made between 27 B.C. and 18 B.C. The early lifetime coin depicts the new portrait of Augustus transformed into an ageless Apollo-like figure on one side and an image of a heifer based on a long-lost masterpiece by a Greek sculptor on its reverse.

22 examples of the heifer-reverse aureus minted during the reign of Augustus are known, of which 15 are in museums. Of the seven in private collections, the one that sold is among the best and most sought after. Brisk bidding at the London auction in 2014 saw the price of the coin soar past its pre-sale estimate of £300k and eventually go for a hammer price of £400k.

In 27 BC Octavian, the great nephew of Julius Caesar, founded the Principate. He took the name of Augustus, meaning ‘stately’ or ‘dignified’, and began to stamp his authority on Rome. The depiction of Augustus is unlike the severe portraits found in late republican Rome. The young Octavian is a figure of calm dignity and power. The reverse celebrates the 28 BC dedication of the temple of Apollo on the Palatine which had as its centrepiece an altar with four statues of heifers by the sculptor Myron of Eleutherae.

Pertinax

Pertinax (1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was a Roman military leader and Roman Emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded the insane Commodus to become the first emperor during the Year of the Five Emperors.

Born the son of a freed slave, Pertinax became an officer in the army. He was promoted to higher-ranking positions in both the military and political spheres, leading to the rank of provincial governor and urban prefect. He was a member of the Roman Senate. Following the death of Commodus, Pertinax was acclaimed emperor.

Pertinax attempted several reforms during his short reign of 86 days. One was the restoration of discipline among the Praetorian Guards, and that led to conflict that cost him his life.

Didius Julianus

The Praetorian Guard expected a generous donativum on his ascension, and when they were disappointed, they agitated until he produced money, selling off Commodus' property. He was assassinated by the Guard on 28 March 193. After his death, the Praetorians auctioned off the imperial title, which was won by the wealthy senator Didius Julianus, whose also short reign would end on 1 June 193 in death.

Pertinax gold is rare and valuable. Gold aureus of Pertinax. EF $56,525 in 2017.

Masada

Masada is one of the most visited sites in Israel. It contains ancient palaces and fortifications located on top of an isolated rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea.

Masada (‘fortress’ in Hebrew) became known for its significance in the First Jewish-Roman War. In the first century A.D. a thousand Jewish rebels took over the fortress and were surrounded by the Roman army, which left behind the most complete siege works in the world. When defeat was imminent, the rebels chose to commit suicide.

The fortress was built during the time of King Herod between 37 and 31 BCE. The eastern side of the rock falls in a sheer drop of about 450m to the Dead Sea basin, the lowest point on earth.

In 73 CE, the Roman governor of Judaea, Lucius Flavius Silva commanded the Roman legion X Fretensis and laid siege to Masada.

Roman Emperor Vespasian, who reigned from 69 to 79 AD.

The Roman legion surrounded Masada, built a circumvallation wall and then a siege ramp against the western face of the plateau. Remnants of one of the legionary camps of X Fretensis at Masada, outside the circumvallation wall.

The inscription reads IVDEA CAPTA. Coins inscribed Ivdaea Capta (Judea Captured) were issued throughout the Empire

The ramp was complete in the spring of 73, after several months of siege, allowing the Romans to breach the wall of the fortress with a battering ram. When Roman troops entered the fortress, they discovered that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed mass suicide or killed each other. Only two women and five children were found alive.

The Sicarii were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, heavily opposed the Roman occupation of Judea. The Sicarii carried sicae, or small daggers, concealed in their cloaks. At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans and sympathizers alike, blending into the crowd after. The Sicarii were one of the earliest forms of an organized assassination unit.