| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 153 | Auction date: 18 May 2025 |
| Lot number: 532 Price realized: 3,000 CHF (Approx. 3,584 USD / 3,204 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: The Roman Republic M. Iunius Brutus. Quinarius, mint moving with Brutus 43-42, Billon 14 mm, 1.82 g. LEIBERTAS Laureate head of Libertas r. Rev. Prow-stem and anchor in saltire. Babelon Junia 33. C –, after 5. Sydenham 1288. Sear Imperators 210. RBW 1779. Crawford 506/3. King 79h (this coin illustrated). Rare and in unusually fine condition for the issue. Struck on a very broad flan and with a superb old cabinet tone. Good very fine Ex Stack's sale 3 May 1978, Knobloch, 713. This unusually fine quinarius of Brutus, like the previous lot, is also tied to the denarius with the head of Libertas on the obverse (with which it shares its obverse type) and the reverse showing a lyre between a quiver and filleted laurel branch (Crawford 501/1). However, the precise occasion for its issue remains uncertain, and Crawford sees it associated with the denarius of the legate, Pedanius Costa (Crawford 506/2), which has the head of Apollo along with the legend LEG COSTA on the obverse, and on the reverse a trophy with an incurved shield and two spears along with the accompanying legend, BRVTVS IMP. Regardless, it seems to have been struck prior to Philippi at a mint travelling with Brutus and Cassius in either western Asia Minor or in northern Greece during the late summer or autumn of 42 BC. The interesting types of the reverse, here perfectly centered on a broad flan with wide margins, shows a stem of a prow and an anchor in saltire, and lacks any legend. The type may be seen as praiseworthy of Cassius' capture of Rhodes, or it may be a tribute to the superior naval forces of the tyrannicides over the Triumvirs. Estimate: 1000 CHF |  |
