République romaine - Marc Antoine
Denier - Patras ? (32-31).
Emission au nom de la légion II.
D'une qualité exceptionnelle - Marque de contrôle à l'avers.
Exemplaire de la vente Roma 3 du 31 mars 2012, N°398.
3.50g - Cr. 544/14 - Sear Imperator 349
FDC – MS
The Legio secunda Sabina which is named on the reverse had supposedly been founded by Julius Caesar in 48 BC. This coin, and the following ones, belong to the well-known series of the 'legionary coinage', issued by Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII in preparation for the war against Octavian.
Therefore, they pre-date the Battle of Actium in September 31 BC (which led to their suicides), but were used by the soldiers who fought this war. Several millions of such coins were struck, the immense majority obviously having been melted since, and their rarity varies according to each legion. The iconography is probably copied from a denarius issued in 82 BC by C. Valerius Flaccus (type Crawford 365/1), and this design would be used again multiple times during the Roman empire.