Brutus (Marcus Junius Brutus) and Publius Servilius Casca Longus.

Aureus 43-42 BC, moving mint in Northern Greece or Asia Minor. Within a wreath, BRVTVS - IMP inscribed on either side of the bare head of Brutus right / L - CASCA LONGVS Trophy consisting of breastplate, helmet, shields and spears on two prows back to back. 8,04g. Babelon (Junia) 46; Bahrfeldt 65b.5 (same dies); BMCRR (East) 62 (same dies); Calicó 56; Cohen 14 var.; Crawford 507/1b (same dies); Kent & Hirmer 99 (same dies); Mazzini 14 (this coin); Sydenham 1297 (same dies).

NGC AU* 5/5, 4/5 (2157714-010) One of the most important and famous coins in Roman numismatics. Extremely rare and extremely fine.

Provenance:
Giuseppe Mazzini (1883-1961) Collection – First volume, 1957, Pl 5, 14.
NAC Auction 34 (24 November 2006), 3.

Brutus is one of Caesar's murderers. Yet the dictator regarded him as his son, because of his close relationship with his mother Servilia. Brutus betrayed him once by siding with Pompey during the split between Pompey and Caesar. After the disaster of Pharsalus in 48, he returned to the favour of his father-in-law, who entrusted him with the government of Cisalpine Gaul in 47 and granted him the urban praetorship in 45. Despite this clemency, Brutus once again conspired against his benefactor and joined the conspirators who assassinated him on the Ides Day, 15 March 44. Forced to flee Rome, he withdrew to Macedonia with Cassius and the main conspirators. Defeated in 42 by Octavian and Mark Antony at the battle of Philippi in Macedonia, he chose to kill himself. Octavian had his head cut off and sent to Rome, where it was displayed at the feet of the statue of Caesar. After the defeat of the Republican party, the two victors fought each other for almost a decade, until Octavian became master of the Roman Empire in 30. He obtained full powers from the Senate and took the name of Augustus in 27. He then decided to close the Curia and declared “the Ides of March” a day of parricide, and forbade the Senate to meet on that date for ever.

The portrait of Brutus appears surprisingly on this rare aureus struck shortly before the Battle of Philippi. Although the personalisation of his coinage hardly seems in accordance with the republican values he embodied, it was undoubtedly necessary to rally the troops to his cause. Publius Servilius Casca Longus, whose name appears on the reverse, also took part in the conspiracy against Caesar; he was even the first to strike him dead. The reverse symbolises Brutus’ recent military victories in Thrace and Lycia and Cassius’ naval victory over the Rhodians.

This brief issue, known from a total of 17 coins, was produced from two obverse dies and four reverse dies. Six specimens share the same pair of obverse and reverse dies:

– BMCRR East 62; Bahrfeldt 65b.5 (illustrated in Crawford 507/1b; Sydenham 1297; Kent & Hirmer 99).

– Milan 2152 (illustrated in Vismara and Martini, “Le monete del museo civico di Legnano, Guida all'esposizione”, Milan 1988, p. 123, 56).

– Piancastelli Collection 162.

– Barry Feirstein Collection; NAC Auction 45 (2 April 2008), 40.

– NGSA Auction 4 (11-12 December 2006), 143; Leu Auction 52 (15 May 1991), 148; Hunt Collection; Sotheby's Auction 6043 (19 June 1990), 118; Vinchon Auction (2-3 December 1975), 192 (illustrated in CRI 211; Sear RCV 1430).

– Mazzini Collection 14; NAC Auction 34 (24 November 2006), 3 (this coin).