Watch List notes:

The Collection of Roman Republican Coins of a Student and his Mentor Part III

Marcus Antonius. Aureus, mint moving with M. Antony 41, AV 8.01 g. ANT AVG·IMP – III.V.R·P.C Head of M. Antony r. Rev. Fortuna standing l., holding rudder in r. hand and cornucopiae in l.; at feet, stork. Below, PIETAS·COS. Babelon Antonia 43. C 76. Bahrfeldt 82. Sydenham 1173. Sear Imperators 240. Calicó 103. RBW 1794. Crawford 516/1.
Very rare. Struck on a very broad flan, minor edge marks, otherwise very fine
Privately purchased from Spink and Son in March 1973.The year 41 B.C., when this aureus was struck at a mint travelling in the East with Marc Antony, was a period of unusual calm for the triumvir, who took a welcomed, if unexpected, rest after the great victory he and Octavian had won late in 42 B.C. against Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi. Antony's original plan of organising an invasion of Parthia was put on hold after he sailed to Tarsus, where he had summoned Cleopatra VII, the Greek queen of Egypt. She was to defend herself against accusations that she had aided Brutus and Cassius before Philippi, but it is generally agreed that the summons was merely a pretext for Antony's plan to secure aid for his Parthian campaign. Their meeting was anything but a source of conflict; indeed, they found much common ground, including their agreement that it was in their mutual interests to execute Cleopatra's sister and rival Arsinoe IV, who had been ruling Cyprus. In addition to sharing political interests, the two agreed that Antony would winter in Egypt to share a luxurious vacation with Cleopatra that caused a further postponement of Antony's designs on Parthia. Thus began another of the queen's liaisons with noble Romans, a prior having been Julius Caesar (and, according to Plutarch, Pompey Jr. before him). During the course of his stay in Egypt Cleopatra was impregnated, which resulted in twins born to her in 40 B.C. But this care-free period was only a momentary calm in the storm, for trouble was brewing in both the East and the West. Early in 40 B.C. Syria was overrun by the Parthians, seemingly while Antony travelled to Italy to meet Octavian following the Perusine War, in which Octavian defeated the armies of Antony's wife and brother. The conflict with Octavian was resolved when they signed a pact at Brundisium in October, and Syria was eventually recovered through the efforts of Antony's commanders from 40 to 38 B.C.