Tribute for Antony’s “Spies”

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 3262. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $550. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Mark Antony. 32-31 BC. AR Denarius (3.64 g, 12h). Legionary issue. Patrae(?) mint. Quinquereme right / CHORTIS SPECVLATORVM, three signa, decorated with wreaths and rostra. Crawford 544/12; CRI 386; Sydenham 1214; RSC 6. VF, toned, light “V” graffito under tone on obverse. Rare.

From the John A. Seeger Collection.

One of the rarest of the legionary series is this denarius which pays tribute to Mark Antony’s “spies.” The speculatores are first mentioned in Caesar’s Commentarii on his campaigns in Gaul. There, they took on a specifically "intelligence” role and sometimes infiltrated the enemy. Mark Antony formed these men, who had earlier been seconded from time to time out of the legions, into a permanently separate body. As time progressed, these individuals became an indispensable part of the government, gathering information not only about external, but also about internal, enemies of the state.