Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;AncientJoe, post: 1953885, member: 44357&quot;]<img src="http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y342/AncientJoe/EidMar_zps68c8605b.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>In school, we all learned about Brutus’ assassination of Julius Caesar. For me, it was a compelling story, further enhanced by the reading of Shakespeare’s play which told of the events of the Ides of March. However, my deeper fascination with it came when I began collecting ancient coins, learning that, fortunately for historians and collectors alike, Brutus minted a coin commemorating this turning point in Western history.</p><p><br /></p><p>It’s hard to argue with the #1 ranking given to it by a consortium of collectors and dealers in the “100 Greatest Ancient Coins” book published by Harlan Berk. The trouble with this type is that it’s very hard to find in good condition and regardless of the condition, its popularity drives up the price.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am extremely fortunate to have been able to acquire a solid-silver example of this historic type. It’s graded nearly EF and considerably better in hand and in my photos than the auction house’s poorly lit images showed. Around 80 examples are known, 30 of which reside in museums, with many of the remaining coins available to private collectors are in extremely poor condition or corroded due to the impure silver in which they were struck in Brutus’ moving mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse bears a portrait of Brutus, the most famous of all assassins. The imagery on the reverse of the coin proclaims that the tyrant Julius Caesar is dead and includes the date of the assassination (EIDibus MARtiis, the Ides of March, the 15th of March, 44 BC). The daggers represent Brutus and Cassius, the two leaders of the uprising against Caesar. The daggers surround a liberty cap as a reminder that Caesar was killed in the name of liberty, freeing the Roman people.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin is certainly the centerpiece to my collection, and I’ll be posting a more detailed historical write-up soon, accompanied with some other contemporary issues.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Marcus Junius Brutus, Assassin of Caesar and Imperator (44-42 BC). AR denarius (3.73 gm). Mint moving with Brutus in northern Greece, L. Plaetorius Cestianus, magistrate, late summer-autumn 42 BC. BRVT IMP L. PLAET. CEST., bare head of Brutus right, wearing slight beard / EID MAR, pileus (cap of liberty) between two daggers. Crawford 508/3. Cahn 7a (same dies). CRI 216. RSC 15. RCV 1439</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in