The Triumvirs. Mark Antony and Octavia. Summer-autumn 39 BC. AV Aureus (20mm, 8.02 g, 11h). Athens mint. VF.

Triton XXVI
Lot: 641. Estimated: $ 50 000

Roman Republican, Coin-in-Hand Video, Gold

Sold For $ 55 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

The Triumvirs. Mark Antony and Octavia. Summer-autumn 39 BC. AV Aureus (20mm, 8.02 g, 11h). Athens mint. Bare head of Mark Antony right; M • ANTONIVS • M • F • M • N • AVGVR • IMP • T II RT around / Head of Octavia right, her hair tied in a knot behind with one long plait arranged as a loop on top of her head; COI • DII IIG • ITIIR • IIT • TIIRT • III • UIR • R • P • C around. Crawford 533/3b; CRI 269; Bahrfeldt 91; Calicó 116; Sydenham 1201; BMCRR East 145; RBW –. Minor marks, residual luster. VF. Very rare variety, none in CoinArchives.

The aurei of this issue that have appeared at auction over the last twenty years have different obverse and reverse legends to the example offered here (cf. Crawford 533/3a). The only example of this specific type, and with these legends, to have been publicly offered at auction was the same coin that was published by Eckhel in his 1828 Doctrina Numorum Veterum (VI, pp. 46-7), where it was described as being the only example known, prior to it selling in Sotheby’s Metropolitan Museum of Art sale (Part I, 10 November 1972, lot 11), where it was described as being “of the highest rarity and probably unique.”

Shortly after the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, cracks began to appear in the Second Triumvirate. Antony’s affair with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and his designs on Rome’s eastern holdings, prompted Octavian to formulate a binding agreement that would buy him time to strengthen his own position. At Brundisium a pact was signed, bringing about a reconciliation and some semblance of peace. As a condition of this reconciliation, Antony was married to Octavian’s widowed sister, Octavia. She stayed with him in Athens while he continued to prepare for a war against Parthia, and where, in 39 BC, he was associated with the “New Dionysus”. In 37 BC, she helped negotiate the Pact of Tarentum, which renewed the triumvirate until 33 BC. Antony, by this time, however, had renewed his affair with Cleopatra. He remained in the East, where he married the queen, and subsequently fathered several children. In 32 BC, as a renewal of civil war became imminent, Antony divorced Octavia. In the aftermath of Antony’s death, Octavia, known for her loyalty and nobilty, brought Antony’s surviving children to Rome to live with her.

The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.

Triton XXVI – Session Two – Lot 335-673 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 10 January 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.