Marcus Antonius and Lucius Munatius Plancus AR Denarius, PRO • COS - Fourré

Marcus Antonius - AR Denarius Early summer 40 BC. (18mm, 2,72 g, 12h). Military mint traveling with Antonius as Triumvir and Imperator and Plancus as Imperator in Greece; Fourré

obv. M • ANTON • IMP • AVG III VIR • R • R • P • C Lituus and capis, rev. L • PLANCVS • PRO • COS Sacrificial jug flanked by thunderbolt and caduceus.

Crawford 522/2; CRI 253; Sydenham 1190; RSC 24; RBW1806.

Provenance from Jean Elsen & ses Fils Auction 154 Lot Nr. 458 17 March 2023

Rarity: A check on Acsearch revealed that only 8 other coins of this type have been recorded over the last two decades. Just a few older entries date back before 1924 and this is the only Fourré that I could encounter.

These issues may have been struck as M. Antonius and L. Plancus were moving their forces across Greece toward the coast of Epirus. L. Plancus was a supporter of M. Antonius until the triumvir's failed Parthian campaign, at which time he shifted his allegiance to Octavian (Suetonius [Aug. 7] informs us that it was at Plancus' suggestion that Octavian took the name Augustus).
Remarkably, Plancus' tomb, built at the top Mount Orlando at the seaside town of Gaeta, Italy, has survived. The tomb's inscription recounts the greatest achievements of his career:
Lucius Munatius Plancus, son of Lucius, grandson of Lucius, great-grandson of Lucius, consul, censor, twice imperator, septemvir epulonum, having triumphed over the Raetians, built the temple of Saturn from the spoils; parcelled out land in Italy at Beneventum;
and in Gaul, founded the colonies of Lugdunum (Lyon, France) and Raurica (Basel, Switzerland).
Sear (CRI p. 256) suggests that the tall vessel on the reverse "may relate to his [Plancus'] membership of the priestly college of the Epulones whose function was to supervise certain sacred banquets."

Reference : Crawford 522/2; CRI 253; Sydenham 1190; RSC 24; RBW1806

Collection : Roman Imperatorial collection