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Roman Republic, Marcus Antonius and M. Junius Silanus, Denarius

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Roman Republic, Marcus Antonius and M. Junius Silanus, Denarius (obverse) Roman Republic, Marcus Antonius and M. Junius Silanus, Denarius (reverse)

With precious metal, a furnace, some die cutters and a couple of specialized artisans at hand, one could strike coins practically everywhere in ancient times. Military commanders thus always brought enough precious metals on their campaigns to be able to issue coins at any required time. This is why the place of minting is unknown of many coins that were struck during the civil wars towards the end of the Roman Republic.

This denarius was issued by Mark Antony and his quaestor (a financial official) Marcus Junius Silanus somewhere in Greece, maybe in Athens. The obverse depicts a portrait of Mark Antony signed by the artist: beneath the commander's ear, well hidden in his hair, is a small letter P.

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