Watch List notes:

The Roman Republic

Marcus Antonius. Aureus, mint moving with M. Antonius in 41 BC, AV 8.05 g. M ANTONIVS·IM[P III R·]P·C Bare head of Marcus Antonius r.; behind, lituus. Rev. PIETAS – COS Pietas standing l. holding lighted turibulum in r. hand and cornucopiae. Babelon Antonia 45. C 78. Voetter, Bachofen 679 (this coin). Bahrfeldt 83.7 (this coin). Sydenham 1171. Sear Imperators 237. RBW –. Crawford 516/4. Calicó 104a (these dies).
Extremely rare. A very interesting and unusual portrait struck in high relief,
minor areas of weakness, otherwise very fine
Ex Egger 39, 1912, Bachofen von Echt, 619; M&M 93, 2003, Arthur Bally-Herzog 66; Gemini X, 2013, Randy Haviland, 373 and NAC 91, 2016, La Borde, 3 sales.
After jointly defeating Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in late 42 B.C. with Octavian, Mark Antony went to the East in order to reorganize affairs there and prepare for his upcoming invasion of Parthia. This rare aureus was struck at a mobile military mint while he was still in route to his initial residence at Ephesus, probably at the very beginning of 41 B.C. The reverse celebrates the consulship of his brother, Lucius Antony, who had the cognomen Pietas in recognition of his familial loyalty to his brother, and features a depiction of the goddess holding a lighted censer, a stand for burning incense which featured during a consul's sacrificial duties of examining auspices before a meeting of the Senate could be held, and a cornucopiae surmounted by two storks. The obverse of our coin sports a compact portrait of the triumvir and lacks the augural title AVG in the legend, while the related issues struck subsequently while Antony was resident at Ephesus have a much broader fabric, with a larger portrait, the inclusion of the augural title in the legend, and a slightly different reverse showing Pietas holding a rudder instead of a censer. While in the East, Antony summoned the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, to Tarsus in order to answer accusations that had been made against her concerning her loyalty preceding Philippi. As she had been aligned with the Caesarean party, the accusations appear spurious, and were probably instigated by Antony in order to secure a meeting with her so that he could appeal to her for aid for his anticipated campaign against the Parthians. The queen arrived in great splendour, and charmed Antony so much that he delayed his plans and choose instead to winter with the Cleopatra in Alexandria, beginning their famous affair.