Ancient Greece - AR Denarius (Brutus) - 44-42 BC

Denomination: AR Denarius                                                                 

Date:  44-42 BC

Mint: Rome                                                                                         

Weight: 4.07 gr                                               

Grade: NGC - 6557660-005. CH XF – Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5

Mount: 14K gold

Description:  Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus, as Imperator and Assassin of Caesar (44-42 BC), with P. Servilius Casca Longus, as moneyer.  Military mint travelling with Brutus and Casca in western Asia Minor or northern Greece, summer-autumn 42 BC.  Obverse: Bare head of L. Junius Brutus right; BRVTVS downwards to left. Reverse: Bare head of C. Servilius Ahala right; AHALA downwards to left. 

History: Marcus Junius Brutus. (Circa 85 BC – October 23, 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was retained as his legal name. He is often referred to simply as Brutus. His name has been condemned for betrayal of his friend and benefactor Caesar, and is perhaps only rivalled in this regard by the name of Judas Iscariot (famously in Dante's Inferno). He also has been praised in various narratives, both ancient and modern, as a virtuous and committed republican who fought – however futilely – for freedom and against tyranny.

 With Caesar's increasingly monarchical and autocratic behavior after the civil war, several senators who later called themselves Liberatores (Liberators), plotted to assassinate him. Brutus took a leading role in the assassination, which was carried out successfully on the Ides of March (15 March) of 44 BC. In a settlement between the Liberatores and the Caesarians, an amnesty was granted to the assassins while Caesar's acts were upheld for two years.

6557660-005