Brutus and Publius Servilius Casca Longus. Aureus 43-42 BC, moving mint in Northern Greece or Asia Minor. Within a wreath, BRVTVS - IMP inscribed on either side of the bare head of Brutus right / CASCA - LONGVS Trophy consisting of breastplate, helmet, shields and spears on two prows back to back. Small L between spears. 8,06g. Babelon (Junia) 46; Bahrfeldt 65b.5 (same dies); Biaggi 40; BMCRR (East) 62 (same dies); Calicó 56; Cohen 14; Crawford 507/1b (same dies); CRI 211 (this coin), Kent & Hirmer 99 (same dies); Sear 1430 (this coin); Sydenham 1297 (same dies). One of the most important and infamous coins in Roman numismatics. Extremely rare and Superb. Provenance: Vinchon (2-3 December 1975), 192. Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, Sotheby's (19 June 1990), 118. Leu 52 (15 May 1991), 148. NGSA 4 (11 December 2006), 143. Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Brutus was one of the leading conspirators against Julius Caesar. Yet Caesar had regarded him almost as a son, owing to his close relationship with Brutus’ mother, Servilia. Brutus had betrayed Caesar once before, siding with Pompey during the conflict between the two men. After the disaster of Pharsalus in 48 BC, however, he returned to Caesar’s favour. Caesar entrusted him with the government of Cisalpine Gaul in 47 BC and appointed him urban praetor in 45 BC. Despite this remarkable clemency, Brutus once again conspired against his benefactor and joined the group of conspirators who assassinated Caesar on the Ides of March, 15 March 44 BC. Deeply committed to republican values, Brutus could no longer tolerate Caesar’s concentration of power and his dismantling of the traditional republican institutions. Forced to flee Rome, he withdrew to Macedonia with Cassius and the principal leaders of the Republican cause. At first sight, the personalisation of his coinage may seem at odds with the Republican values that Brutus claimed to defend. Yet the portrait was undoubtedly intended to rally the troops and supporters of the Republican cause around his person. It also constituted a direct response to his Caesarian opponents, Octavian and Mark Antony, who had already placed their own portraits on their coinage. The portrait itself is strikingly realistic, presenting Brutus with his characteristic features. The reverse combines land and naval elements in a trophy commemorating the recent victories of Brutus in Thrace and Lycia, as well as Cassius’ naval victory over the Rhodians. It thus served both as a celebration of military success and as a powerful reminder of the strength of the Republican armies. The tiny letter L on the reverse may refer either to Libertas, one of the fundamental ideals of the tyrannicides, who believed that they had liberated the Roman people, or to Lycia, where Brutus had achieved a military victory. The name Publius Servilius Casca Longus, which appears on the reverse, adds another deeply personal connection to the assassination of Caesar. He was himself one of the conspirators and is traditionally regarded as the first man to strike Caesar during the attack on the Ides of March. Interestingly, while Brutus ultimately accepted the use of his own portrait, Cassius appears to have refused to do so. The absence of Cassius’ portrait may reflect his more uncompromising Republican principles: to him, placing a living Roman’s portrait on a coin may have seemed too closely associated with the Caesarian practice that the conspirators claimed to have destroyed. This aureus was therefore struck at a decisive moment, only shortly before Brutus and Cassius were defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. It stands as a remarkable testament to the final struggle of the Roman Republic.