Sale: CNG 67, Lot: 1250. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2004.  Sold For $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MARK ANTONY. 32-31 BC. AR Legionary Denarius (3.76 gm). Patrae? mint. Galley right / CHORTIS SPECVLATORVM, three standards, decorated with wreaths and rostra. Crawford 544/12; CRI 386; Sydenham 1214; RSC 6. Good VF with full reverse legend, scrapes on both obverse and reverse. Rare. ($1000)

One of the rarest of the legionary series is the above 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.