Lucius, Brother of Mark Antony

244, Lot: 397. Estimate $200. Sold for $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Mark Antony and Lucius Antony. Summer 41 BC. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.59 g, 3h). Ephesus mint, M. Cocceius Nerva, proquaestor. Bare head of Mark Antony right; capis behind / Bare head of Lucius Antony right. Crawford 517/5c; CRI 247; Sydenham 1186; RSC 2b. Near VF, obverse banker’s marks, small flan crack, minor porosity. Rare.

After finalizing the arrangements of the second triumvirate, Mark Antony proceeded to Asia, first establishing a residence at Ephesus. Once there, he issued a series of coins commemorating the second triumvirate and the consulship of his brother, Lucius Antony, in 41 BC. M. Cocceius Nerva, a lieutenant of Mark Antony, was responsible for issuing the latter series. In his capacity as consul, Lucius took an overt stance against the unpopular Octavian, which eventually led to military hostilities between the two. Octavian, with the help of Agrippa and Salvidienus, besieged Lucius in Perusia (the "Perusine War"). Lucius eventually surrendered, and he was subsequently sent as a promagistrate to Spain, where he apparently died shortly thereafter.