I recently acquired a Sotheby's Catalog from 1993. In it there is a coin I had never seen before. One of only 2 known gold Aureus issued by Marcus Junius Brutus, essentially bragging about his role in the assassination of Julius Caesar. The reason is represented by the Pileus {the cap of freedom}, the means by the 2 daggers on the EID MAR {Ides of March}. Talk about cold ....The History shown on this coin was an event that actually changed world history. But I think the thing that amazed me most of all is that the image of Brutus doesn't look anything like I pictured him. I expected him to be big and strong, but he looks kind of wimpy. There are 56 Silver Denari of this coin and only 2 in gold. Can anyone think of a more desirable Ancient? Has anyone ever seen this coin in person? I'd be interested in the comments of the members about this coin? The Holy Grail? JonySky
This is a great coin Jony. I would say that everyone has their own "Holy Grail" coin, but this one would probably be towards the top of many's lists. About his looks, have you ever seen the show "Rome" that was on HBO for 2 seasons? I've been renting and watching them lately. It's a great show. On the show, the actor that plays Brutus has a very similar look to the portrait on the coin...kind of scrawny and thin faced.
I have seen on the of the silver denari. Personally my Holy Grail would be a scudo of Mantua (from the 1620s) in a really high grade....sadly they tend to be very worn...
Oh, and Cesar's last words were infact " Kai tu, tekanon? " which translate from the greek as "You too, (my) child?"
