Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus AR Denarius. Military mint (Sardis?), summer 42 BC. M. Servilius, legate. Laureate head of Libertas to right; M•SERVILIVS upwards behind, [LEG] upwards before / Trophy with two spears and shield; Q•CAEPIO upwards to left, BRVTVS•IMP upwards on right. Crawford 505/5; CRI 207; BMCRR East, p.485 note; RSC 9a. 3.62g, 20mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine. Of the greatest rarity, one of only a handful in private hands.
From a private UK Collection.
The representation of the goddess Libertas had been a feature of the obverse of Brutus' coins well before his participation in the events of 44 BC, doubtless originally in reference to his ancestor Lucius Junius Brutus, the tyrannicide who liberated the citizens of Rome from the kings and was thus credited as the founder of the Republic. However, the goddess' presence on Brutus' coins was imbued with a more personal significance after his involvement in the plot to assassinate Caesar, and indeed the word 'libertas' was reportedly the watchword with which Brutus signalled the all-clear to his fellow conspirators.
It seems that Brutus was very mindful of the importance of his personal propaganda, particularly in the turbulent months that followed the assassination, a view reinforced by his decision to also change his name. When he became consul in 54, Brutus' full name was Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, on account of his having been adopted by his uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio. Having reverted to his birth name for a time, in the aftermath of Caesar's death, when this denarius was stuck, Brutus revived his adoptive name in order to illustrate his links to another famous ancestor, Gaius Servilius Ahala, a highly controversial supposed 'tyrannicide' in his own time, but widely regarded by later Romans as a hero.
The reverse of this coin possibly alludes to Brutus' military conquests in Lycia – having requested military and financial support at the point of a sword from the Lycian League and having been refused, Brutus besieged the principal city of Xanthus and after its ruination he thoroughly sacked it, carrying off a great quantity of plunder. Contemporary histories recorded that though the Xanthians fought valiantly against the superior Roman force, defeat was inevitable and when they were at last cornered they once again (as had similarly occurred five hundred years before when their ancestors were faced with defeat at the hands of the Persians) slew their women and children, set fire to their city, and fought to the last, with only 150 Xanthian men thought to have survived. The present type was very possibly struck with the proceeds of Brutus' Xanthian plunder.
Extremely Fine. Of the greatest rarity, one of only a handful in private hands.
From a private UK Collection.
The representation of the goddess Libertas had been a feature of the obverse of Brutus' coins well before his participation in the events of 44 BC, doubtless originally in reference to his ancestor Lucius Junius Brutus, the tyrannicide who liberated the citizens of Rome from the kings and was thus credited as the founder of the Republic. However, the goddess' presence on Brutus' coins was imbued with a more personal significance after his involvement in the plot to assassinate Caesar, and indeed the word 'libertas' was reportedly the watchword with which Brutus signalled the all-clear to his fellow conspirators.
It seems that Brutus was very mindful of the importance of his personal propaganda, particularly in the turbulent months that followed the assassination, a view reinforced by his decision to also change his name. When he became consul in 54, Brutus' full name was Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, on account of his having been adopted by his uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio. Having reverted to his birth name for a time, in the aftermath of Caesar's death, when this denarius was stuck, Brutus revived his adoptive name in order to illustrate his links to another famous ancestor, Gaius Servilius Ahala, a highly controversial supposed 'tyrannicide' in his own time, but widely regarded by later Romans as a hero.
The reverse of this coin possibly alludes to Brutus' military conquests in Lycia – having requested military and financial support at the point of a sword from the Lycian League and having been refused, Brutus besieged the principal city of Xanthus and after its ruination he thoroughly sacked it, carrying off a great quantity of plunder. Contemporary histories recorded that though the Xanthians fought valiantly against the superior Roman force, defeat was inevitable and when they were at last cornered they once again (as had similarly occurred five hundred years before when their ancestors were faced with defeat at the hands of the Persians) slew their women and children, set fire to their city, and fought to the last, with only 150 Xanthian men thought to have survived. The present type was very possibly struck with the proceeds of Brutus' Xanthian plunder.