Crawford 433/2

Moneyer: Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus. 54 BC.

Denomination: Denarius

Obverse: Bare head of Rome's first consul Lucius Junius Brutus right; BRVTVS behind

Reverse: Bare head of Caius Servilius Ahala right; AHALA behind. 

Reference: Crawford 433/2

Mint: Rome

Notes: Struck during Marcus Junius Brutus' tenure as moneyer in 54 BC, this issue shows two of his most illustrious ancestors. On the obverse, we find the image of Lucius Junius Brutus, Rome's legendary first consul, who supposedly expulsed his uncle Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman king, in 509 BC, whereas the reverse portrays C. Servilius Ahala, another legendary figure from the early Roman Republic, whose fame derived from killing the would-be tyrant Spurius Maelius in 439 BC. With our hindsight knowledge of Brutus' role in the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BC, the motives shown on this coin appear almost prophetic. On the other hand, it was common practice for Rome's moneyers to portray famous ancestors on their denarii as a means of aggrandizing their family's glory in a time when social norms still rigidly prohibited the use of their own portraits.

Collezione : 16 Roman Republic