Watch List notes:

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Marcus Junius Brutus with Casca Longus. Aureus, mint moving with Brutus in the East 43-42 BC, AV 8.12 g. BRVTVS – IMP Bare head of Brutus r. within laurel wreath. Rev. CASCA – LONGVS Trophy, with curved sword and two spears on l. and figure-of-eight shield on r., mounted on a post set on a base formed by two prows back to back. Two shields are placed on the front of the prows and a sword with square handle extends to r. In inner l. field, L. Babelon Junia 46 and Servilia 37. C 14 var. Bahrfeldt 65 and pl VII, 16 (this obverse die). Sydenham 1297. Sear Imperators 211. Calicó 56. Crawford 507/1b.
Extremely rare and an issue of great historical interest and fascination. A bold portrait
of fine style struck in high relief on a very broad flan. Absolutely unobtrusive scrape
on obverse, otherwise good extremely fine


Ex M&M XVII, 1957, 324; Galerie des Monnaies 15-16 February 1977, 460 and NAC 73, 2013, Student and his Mentor part II, 236 sales. From the collection of Sheikh Saoud Al Thani.
Coins with the portrait of Brutus are among the most desired of all objects from the Roman world. Here we have a remarkable aureus with a realistic portrait of the conflicted nobleman who forged the plot to murder Julius Caesar, and whose legacy is still subject open to a wide range of interpretations.

The fact that Brutus placed his own portrait on coinage is clear testimony to his confusion about his principles and his mission, for it contradicts some of the lofty Republican sentiments that he proclaimed as a defence for his murder of Caesar. When Brutus came to lead his own political movement he, too, behaved as a despot, and like Caesar before him, he succumbed to the temptation to place his image on circulating coins.

Cassius, his principal ally, did not follow suit. This is a double-edged sword: though we may admire the nobility of Cassius' restraint, it is a great loss that no coin portraits of him exist. This deprives us not only of an assured image from coinage, but it means we are unable to assign to him any un-inscribed portraits in other media, such as marble or gemstone.

As with all coins that Brutus produced as Imperator, this aureus was probably struck in the late summer or in the fall of 42 B.C., not long before he and Cassius were defeated at Philippi by Mark Antony and Octavian. Since these Republican warlords were operating in the eastern Mediterranean, a host of mints in Asia Minor and Greece emerge as possibilities, though we may best describe them as products of "moving mints" that accompanied the imperators and their vast armies.

Brutus struck two issues of aurei with his portrait. We are fortunate that this issue of Servilius Casca offers a sober and realistic image, especially in comparison with his other aurei, struck by the legate Pedanius Costa, which bear what Sheldon Nodelman rightly describes as a portrait of "neoclassic" style.

The features of Brutus on this piece are fully developed, and there is no attempt to portray youthfully this noble Roman, who was probably forty-three at the time. In that respect, these aurei may offer the most truthful depiction of Brutus, perhaps eclipsing the very best portraits on the Eid Mar coinage.