5217
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  [Image]                              Item Sold At Auction #25
                                  -----------------------------------
                 Lot Number: 62072
                 Estimate: $400.00
                 Final Sale Price: $401.50
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                 Denomination: Legionary Denarius
                 Grade: VF
                 Reference: Crawford 544/12; Sear 386; Sydenham 1214; RSC 6




  Mark Antony. 32-31 BC. AR Legionary Denarius (3.26 gm). ANT. AVG IIIVIR. R. P. C.,
  praetorian galley right / COHORTIS SPECVLATORVM, three legionary standards. Crawford
  544/12; Sear 386; Sydenham 1214; RSC 6. VF, very light banker's mark. Rare legion!
  Estimate $400.



  With this issue, Antony commemorates his special cohort of speculatores. In late
  republican times, these soldiers served as scouts, messengers, and spies. While these
  men were usually assigned to a specific legion, Antony's speculatores were a special
  detachment who carried out his personal assignments. This innovation of Antony's was
  copied by Augustus during the empire, and the speculatores became an elite group
  within the Praetorian Guard whose mission was to protect the emperor's person.


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