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Marcus Iunius Brutus and Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus, Denarius, mint travelling with Brutus and Cassius in northern Greece, late summer-autumn 42 BC, Cr. 508/3; Syd. 1301; Banti & Simonetti, CNR 36/3 (this example); Cahn, 19a (this example); Apollo to Apollo 41.2/41.3 (this example), 3.48 g
Obverse: BRVT IMP L. PLAET. CEST. Bare head of Brutus to right.
Reverse: EID · MAR. Pileus (cap of liberty) between two daggers.
A superior example with an excellent portrait, of sound metal, with an attractive, old toning and with an illustrious pedigree.
A large number of prominent researchers, professional numismatists and collectors have voted the Roman Denarius, presented here celebrating the murder of Julius Caesar, as the most significant of all ancient numismatic objects (Harlan J. Berk, 2008). However, the object is so much more than that, as it is nothing less than the most legendary artifact from classical antiquity. One need only look at the text on the reverse and recall the famous ominous line “Beware the Ides of March”, which Shakespeare had a soothsayer tell Julius Caesar to warn him of the 15th of March. Over time the line has become an embedded term in the English language as a premonition of doom and death. This type also distinguishes itself by being one of the very few that is actually known from ancient sources: “Brutus stamped, upon the Denarii which were being minted, his own likeness and a cap and two daggers indicating by this and by the inscription that he and Cassius had liberated the fatherland.” - Lucius Cassius Dio
Provenance:
Legislation, ethics, authenticity and prestige are some of the very valid reasons that have made the concept of provenance into THE key factor in the market of ancient art and artefacts. The present example is undoubtedly one of the finest among the specimens still in private ownership that can boast an unbroken provenance for generations.
Ex. Apollo to Apollo Collection. Since the publication of the ground-breaking book, “Apollo to Apollo – The hunt for the divine and eternal beauty” in 2018, the Apollo to Apollo collection has positioned itself as one of the most prestigious provenances of recent times when it comes to sheer artistic beauty of the individual pieces. The collection as a whole is not to be considered a numismatic collection but rather a collection of miniature art, forming the base of a completely new way of appreciating one of the most important art forms of antiquity.
Vide: www.apollotoapollo.com; www.eid-mar.com
Ex. De Guermantes Collection, Leu Auktion 86, Lot 725, 5 May 2003. De Guermantes was a French scholar residing in Switzerland for many years. His numismatic collection, which was established from the 1920s to the 1970s, represented a natural part of his other fields of interest consisting of ancient and modern art.
Ex. Madame Paucker, Vinchon Auktion, Paris, 7 April 1959, lot 158. Mina Paucker was a leading Romanian numismatist in the 1930s.
Brutus and Cleopatra, 15 March 2023
Not sold