Mark Antony, 44-30 BC. Aureus (Gold, 20 mm, 8.24 g, 1 h), with Octavia. Athens, circa summer 38. M•ANTONIVS•M•Γ•M•N•AVGVR•IMP•TIIRT Bare head of Mark Antony to right. Rev. COS•DIISIG•ITIIR•[IIT•TIIRT•]III•VIR•R•P•C Bare head of Octavia to right, her hair tied in a knot behind with one long plait arranged as a loop on top of her head. Babelon (Antonia) 70. Calicó 116. Crawford 533/3b. CRI 268a. RBW -. Sydenham 1201. Extremely rare. An attractive example of this very important issue with a particularly fine portrait of Octavia. Minor marks and the reverse struck slightly off center and with a light scratch, otherwise, very fine.



Issued shortly after Antony and Octavian reconciled at Brundisium in late 40 BC, this extremely rare aureus featuring Antony and his newly married wife, Octavia, was minted while they resided in Athens during the summer of 38 BC. This variety is particularly notable for the letter E consistently being engraved as II. All known examples of this misspelling originate from a single pair of dies, which Sear describes as 'a provincial variation on the form of the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet... doubtless the work of a local Athenian engraver' (CRI p. 171).

Both portraits are finely executed; Antony is depicted with bushy locks and youthful facial features, while Octavia’s hair is pulled back tightly into a bun at the top and sides. Her long neck and facial features resemble those commonly seen on the coinage of her younger brother, Octavian, whose types also prominently appear on Antony’s coinage at this time.

Not long after this coin was minted, Antony’s marriage to Octavia collapsed as he rekindled his relationship with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra VII, during the following summer in Antioch. This also marks Octavia’s final appearance on Antony’s precious metal coinage.