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Research Coins: Electronic Auction

 
56, Lot: 109. Estimate $300.
Sold for $370. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MARK ANTONY & OCTAVIA. 39 BC. AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm (11.67 gm). Ephesus mint. Laureate bust of Antony right, lituus below; wreath of ivy and flowers around, countermarked DY / Draped bust of Octavia right, above cista, flanked by twisting snakes. RPC 2201; Sydenham 1197; RSC 2. Howgego -. Toned VF. Countermark apparently unlisted. ($300)

This remarkable issue of triple-denarii from Asia, the first for about a decade, commemorates the marriage of the elder Triumvir with his principal colleague's sister. It celebrates Antony's divine status as the 'New Dionysus,' an honor which had been bestowed on him at the time of his arrival in Ephesus in 41 BC. Although Octavia is not named on either variety of this coinage, there can be no doubt over the identification of the portrait given the firm chronology of the issue. Here her effigy appears above the cista mystica, the special basket which served as a container for the sacred snakes used in the ceremonies for initiates into the cult of Dionysus.