GENEVA (AFP) – A Roman gold coin bearing the image of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, will go to auction in Geneva on Monday, with bids set to start above USD850,000.
“A numismatist’s eyes light up when beholding a coin like this,” because this is “a piece of history”, said head of the Numismatica Genevensis (NGSA) auction house behind the sale Frank Baldacci.
The aureus, the gold coin currency used in ancient Rome, was issued by Brutus and his friends a year or two after they assassinated Roman ruler Caesar in 44 BC, he said.
The coin, which weighs eight grammes, is “of immense historical importance both artistically and politically”, NGSA said. Bidding will start at CHF750,000 (USD852,000), but Baldacci said it would likely go for more than CHF1 million.
“This could go quite high,” he told AFP, pointing out that the piece was a bit like “the Da Vinci of Roman coins”.
This particular aureus features Brutus’ profile framed with laurel leaves on one side.
The other celebrates his recent military victories with warlike symbols.
It is one of only 17 known examples.
The coin was “cast not in Rome but in a mint that travelled with Brutus and his armies as he tried to seize power after the assassination of Julius Caesar”, Baldacci said, adding that it had a “propaganda value”.
The laurel wreath is clearly a sign of “someone who wants to promote himself as emperor”, he said, pointing out that ‘IMP’ – for emperor – was engraved next to Brutus’ face, even though he did not hold that title.
The coin was struck shortly before the fateful Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, which ended with Brutus killing himself after losing to Octavian and Mark Antony as they sought to avenge Caesar’s death.
The aureus has since travelled discreetly through the centuries, with little known about its owners along the way.
“But we know that during the Renaissance, there were a lot of princes and lords who had Roman coin collections,” Baldacci said.
The coin resurfaced in the 1950s when it was catalogued as part of a private collection.
It reappeared again in 2006, when it was put up for auction in Zurich, and sold to a private collector for CHF360,000.
