Brutus and Marcus Servilius. Aureus 43-42 BC, moving mint in Asia Minor. M · SERVILIVS – LEG Laureate head of Libertas right / Q · CAEPIO · – BRVTVS · IMP Trophy composed of a helmet, a cuirass, two spears and a shield. 7,90g. Bahrfeldt 66; Calicó 61a; Crawford 505/4; CRI 206; Sydenham 1314. Rare. Good extremely fine. Provenance: Hess-Leu (27 March 1956), 351. NFA XXV (29 November 1990), 101. Gilbert Steinberg Collection (1920-2008), NAC (16 November 1994), 101. Triton IV (5 December 2000), 420. Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. While Plutarch portrays Brutus as a man of principle, motivated by his ideals of liberty, Cassius is presented as a man driven by ambition and self-interest. After fleeing Rome, these two men of very different character gathered their armies in the East, where tensions and rivalries quickly emerged. Sear believes that this aureus was struck on the occasion of the second meeting between Brutus and Cassius at Sardis in 42 BC, where the two generals were planning the next stage of the war. Plutarch relates that tensions erupted during this meeting: mutual accusations were exchanged, and at one point it was feared that the two men might even come to blows. Nevertheless, such divisions could not be allowed to become public. This aureus therefore features a portrait of Libertas, a shared ideal that was supposed to unite the two leaders of the Liberators. Libertas was consequently a recurring figure in the coinage of the Liberators, embodying the cause for which they claimed to be fighting. The trophy depicted on the reverse recalls Brutus’ military victories in Thrace and Lycia. This aureus also bears the name of the legate responsible for the issue, Marcus Servilius, who had taken part in the campaigns in Lycia. At their meeting in Sardis, the two men also made a series of poor strategic decisions. They refused to march on Italy and realised too late that they needed to be in Macedonia to prevent the Caesarian forces from landing. These disastrous decisions may well have been the result of the tensions within the Republican high command.