Brutus, 43-42 BC. Denarius (Subaeratus, 19 mm, 2.85 g, 11 h), a contemporary imitation from an irregular mint, after 42. CNII [.] CIIW IMP / •CIST Bare head of Brutus to right. Rev. [E]ID•MAR Pileus between two daggers pointing downwards. Cf. Babelon (Junia) 52 and (Plaetoria) 13, BMC 68-70, Cohen 15, Crawford 508/3, CRI 216 and Sydenham 1301 (for prototype). Extremely rare and of great historical interest. Numerous scrapes and scratches and with some breaks in plating and deposits, otherwise, very fine.

The EID MAR coins, minted by Brutus following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, are among the most iconic Roman coins. Featuring Brutus’ portrait on the obverse and a pileus (liberty cap) between two daggers on the reverse, with the inscription EID MAR, they commemorate the murder of Caesar on the Ides of March. These coins are particularly significant as they depict Brutus as the 'liberator of the Republic,' despite his decision to place his own portrait on the obverse in the manner of Hellenistic kings - an act that had been strictly taboo in the Roman Republic, until Julius Caesar's controversial decision to mint his own portrait on coins. This choice is especially striking, given that Brutus had accused Caesar of aspiring to kingship precisely because of this practice. In doing so, Brutus’ actions directly contradicted the republican ideals for which he had assassinated Caesar just two years earlier. This coin type is also one of the few for which we have historical documentation. Cassius Dio writes: 'In addition to these activities Brutus stamped upon the coins 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' (Cass. Dio 47.25.3). An interesting feature of the EID MAR coins is that a significant number are subaerati. Despite this, the high quality of the dies suggests they were struck officially, indicating that Brutus, faced with a shortage of silver, resorted to plating his portrait coins to mint more of them. Our example also has a bronze core, but the less refined style and heavily blundered obverse legend reveal it to be a contemporary imitation from a non-official mint. This attests to the widespread reception and influence of the Brutus denarii, as evidenced by Cassius Dio’s commentary on them and the fact that the anonymous civil war coinage of 68-69 AD adopted the type. The number of EID MAR coins minted in 42 BC was likely much higher than the few surviving examples suggest, indicating that many were seized and melted down by the Caesarian victors after the defeat of the Liberators, which explains their rarity today. A coin sold at Roma Auction XVI (2018), 622 was also described as an imitation, though this author strongly doubts its authenticity. The suggested attribution to the civil war of 68-69 AD is, without question, absurd. Thus, our piece may be the only known contemporary imitation of the famous EID MAR issue