Mark Antony, 44-30 BC. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.27 g, 5 h), with M. Junius Silanus, quaestor pro consule. Military mint moving with Antony, probably Athens, summer 32. ANTON AVG IMP III COS DES III V R P C Bare head of Mark Antony to right; behind his ear, small P (engraver's signature). Rev. ANTONIVS / AVG•IMP III in two lines. Babelon (Antonia) 96. Crawford 542/2. RBW 1831. Sydenham 1209. good fine.
The small P on the obverse represents the only known example of an artist engraving his initials on a Roman Republican coin. This fact went unnoticed for centuries, until it was first pointed out in a Santamaria sales catalog in 1920. This issuer, Junius Silanus, was the step-brother of Brutus. After the treaty of Misennum, 39 BC, Silanus went to Rome and then to the East to join Antony and was given governorship of one of the provinces. It was during this period that he struck this type.