ROMAN. Mark Antony. Autumn 32 to spring 31 BC. Silver Legionary Denarius (3.90g). Patrae (?) mint. Praetorian galley right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XVII CLASSICAE above. Crawford 544/10; CRI 362; Sydenham 1229; RSC 39. aVF. Lightly toned. Very rare as such. This denarius names Legio XVII Classicae, a title pointing to special naval duties within Antony's war machine as Actium approached, when fleets and supply lines mattered as much as battlefield legions. After Antony's defeat, Octavian absorbed and reshaped these forces, and the number XVII later became infamous as one of the three legionary numbers destroyed in the Teutoburg Forest in A.D. 9, a disaster so traumatic that the number was never used again. (P)

Estimate: AUD 750