Les cistophores de Marc Antoine. Un monnayage hellénistique en contexte romain

Lying at the crossroads of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, the cistophori of Mark Antony are exceptional in many respects: they are denominations first introduced by the Attalids in the first half of the 2nd century BC, and whose production was continued by the Romans when the territory came under their control in 133 BC. Minor modifications were gradually introduced in the typology of the coins. However, it was only with Mark Antony’s issues, around 39 BC, that significant changes can be observed. The general is depicted on the obverse of the coins, accompanied by his wife Octavia, in what is the first realistic portrait of a woman on silver coinage minted under Roman authority. Her presence is consistent with the propaganda conveyed by the cistophori, with some types also displaying Dionysus, the deity to whom Mark Antony was likened. Such a parallel is not explained by the general's alleged penchant for drink, but rather by the desire to exalt his past victorious campaigns and, above all, to boast of the much hoped-for one against the Parthians who threatened the borders of the provinces.

The present historical and numismatic study brings together for the first time a representative catalogue of the two types of cistophori struck by Mark Antony (RPC I, 2201-2202). More than 800 specimens are carefully analyzed and classified by die links, allowing the author to apply statistical methods to understand the original volume of the issues. Thanks to the results obtained, the Antonian cistophori can be situated in the political, military and socio-economic context of the Asian province during the final years of the Roman Republic.