Assemini, 11.11.2009
Egregi Lettori,
di seguito
riporto gli elementi che ho potuto raccogliere
sulle vostre monete (figg. 1 e 2)
Denario1, 43-42 a.C., zecca itinerante, Crawford
al n° 508/3 (pag. 518), Sydenham 1301 (pag.
203), indice di
rarità "(9)".
Descrizione
sommaria:
D. Testa di
Bruto2 a destra, barbato; attorno, in alto, in
senso orario BRVT
IMP3 attorno, in
basso a sinistra, in senso antiorario, L PLAET CEST4.
Bordo perlinato
R. Pileo tra
due daghe; sotto EID
MAR. Bordo perlinato.
La ricerca
nel web di monete di tipologia simile ha prodotto i
seguenti risultati::
- http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1439.html
Sale: CNG 69, Lot: 1367. Closing Date: Jun 08,
2005. BRUTUS. Late Summer-Autumn 42 BC. AR
Denarius (3.51 gm, 12h). Mint moving with Brutus
in northern Greece. L. Plaetorius Cestianus,
magistrate. Bidding Closed Estimate $50000 BRUTUS.
Late Summer-Autumn 42 BC. AR Denarius (3.51 gm,
12h). Mint moving with Brutus in northern Greece.
L. Plaetorius Cestianus, magistrate. Bare head of
Brutus right / EID • MAR, pileus between two
daggers. Crawford 508/3; Cahn 22d (same dies); CRI
216; Sydenham 1301; RSC 15. EF, minor edge
crystallization. Rare and popular type. ($50,000)
Marcus Junius Brutus was the son of Marcus Junius
Brutus and Julius Caesar's former mistress,
Servilia. By 59 BC he acquired the alternative
name Quintus Caepio Brutus through adoption by his
uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio. Brought up by
Porcius Cato, he was educated in philosophy and
oratory and long retained a fierce hatred of his
natural father’s murderer, Pompey. He began his
political career in 58 BC by accompanying Cato to
Cyprus. As triumvir monetalis in about 54 BC he
issued coins illustrating his strong republican
views with Libertas and portraits of his ancestors
L. Junius Brutus (who overthrew Tarquinius
Superbus, the last Etruscan king of Rome) and
Servilius Ahala (the later fifth century BC
tyrannicide) (Crawford 433/1 and 2, respectively).
In 53 BC Brutus served in Cilicia as quaestor to
Appius Claudius Pulcher, whose successor, Cicero,
found that ‘the honourable Brutus’ was extracting
48 per cent interest on a loan to the city of
Salamis in Cyprus, contrary to the lex Gabinia.
Brutus, the principled student, stoic, and
Platonist who wrote a number of philosophical
treatises and poems, seems an unlikely
tyrannicide, quite dissimilar to the vehement
Cassius. Despite his hatred of Pompey, he followed
him in the Civil War of 49 BC against Caesar, but
after the former’s defeat at Pharsalus he sought
and was granted Caesar’s pardon. He proceeded to
enjoy Caesar’s favor and was appointed governor of
Gaul in 46 BC, praetor in 44 BC and consul
designate for 41 BC. Perhaps under the influence
of his second wife Porcia, Cato’s daughter, Brutus
joined the conspiracy against Caesar, becoming the
leader alongside Cassius. The reaction of the
populace in the aftermath of the Ides of March
compelled Brutus to leave Rome in April 44 BC. The
Senate’s resolution to declare him a ‘public
enemy’ on 28 November 44 BC was soon repealed and
in February 43 BC he was appointed governor of
Crete, the Balkan provinces and later Asia.
Suspecting the intentions of Antony and Octavian,
Brutus went to Macedonia and won the loyalty of
its governor, Hortensius, and there levied an army
and seized much of the funds prepared by Caesar
for his Parthian expedition. Successful against
the Bessi in Thrace, he was hailed imperator by
his troops, but after the establishment of the
triumvirate in November 43 BC he was outlawed
again and joined forces with Cassius at Sardes. In
the summer of 42 BC they marched through Macedonia
and in October met Octavian on the Via Egnatia
just outside Philippi and won the first battle.
Cassius, as his conservative coins show, remained
true to the old republican cause, while Brutus
followed the self-advertising line of Antony in
the new age of unashamed political propaganda and
struck coins displaying his own portrait. Brutus’
estrangement from Cassius was effectively complete
when this remarkably assertive coin was struck
extolling the pileus or cap of liberty (symbol of
the Dioscuri, saviors of Rome, and traditionally
given to slaves who had received their freedom)
between the daggers that executed Caesar. In the
ironic twist of fate, Brutus committed suicide
during the second battle at Philippi on 23 October
42 BC, using the dagger with which he assassinated
Caesar. This extraordinary type is one of the few
specific coin issues mentioned by a classical
author, Dio Cassius, Roman History 47. 25, 3:
“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.” The
only securely identified portraits of Brutus occur
on coins inscribed with his name; all others,
whether on coins or other artifacts, are
identified based on the three issues inscribed
BRVTVS IMP (on aurei) or BRVT IMP (on denarii). A
careful study of Brutus’ portraits by S. Nodelman
segregates these inscribed portraits into three
main categories: a ‘baroque’ style portrait on the
aurei of Casca, a ‘neoclassical’ style on the
aurei of Costa, and a ‘realistic’ style on the
‘EID MAR’ denarii, which Nodelman describes as
“the soberest and most precise” of all.
- http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/imp/brutus/RSC_0015.2.jpg
(Hammered down at 120,000DM plus 15% buyers fee.)
Subject: Re: [Moneta-L] Eid Mar (Different Topic)
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 09:54:29 +0100 (BST) From:
"T.V. Buttrey" < t i v b 1
@hermes.cam.ac.uk> To: Grzegorz Kryszczuk <
h i v e 2 @home.com> CC: Moneta-L@egroups.com
Some thoughts. (1) The EID MAR coin is one of the
very few Roman issues actually referred to in an
ancient text, Dio Cassius 47.25.3: "In addition to
these activities [fooling around in northern
Greece in 42 BC] 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 [EID MAR] that he and Cassius had
liberated the fatherland." [a] Dio wrote in the
late 2nd /early 3rd cent. AD, so obviously used
others as sources. He may be right or wrong, but
he clearly believed that the coin was a symbol of
eleutheria/LIBERTAS, not of suppression of the
Republic. He also gives Brutus and Cassius equal
credit (which Brutus himself didn't always), which
is nicely suggested by the coin: there are several
reverse dies, on all of which the two daggers
differ. [b] Where Dio clearly didn't get the point
is seen in his casual reference to Brutus'
portrait on the coin. Dio was familiar with the
imperial coinages of a couple of centuries; in 42
BC Brutus' coin portrait was astonishing, and
might well have raised questions as to his
intentions, since thitherto [a word I hardly ever
get the opportunity to use] there was only
Caesar's brash innovation, and then the portraits
of the Second Triumvirate guys. However you read
Brutus, this is striking -- even more so on the
aureus where he pairs his portrait with that of
his (putative) ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, the
greatest hero of the Republic. -- Note that
Cassius never portrayed himself on his own
coinage. (2) As to IMP, the title is certainly a
problem with Caesar. In ordinary Republican usage
it ought to mean "acclaimed as victorious
general", and the acclamation, by the troops
and/or the Senate, meant the right to conduct a
Triumphal parade in Rome, the greatest of all
military honors. Caesar had 5 such, and ought to
have labelled himself something like IMPERATOR
QUINTO. But on some of the denarii of 44 BC he is
CAESAR IMP. This has long been worried over. It
can hardly be military in sense. My own guess is
that it has nothing to do specifically with the
military, but reflects his assumption in 44 BC of
the totally unconstitutional title DICTATOR
PERPETUO, and means something like "Permanent
Possessor of the Imperium [i.e. both military and
civil]". You then find Antony as ANTONIUS IMP,
following Caesar's murder, I think necessarily
meaning "I am Caesar's successor as the head of
state" -- not DICTATOR, because that title was by
now discredited. There was certainly no military
victory against non-Romans (those were the rules)
which could have justified Antony's assumption of
the title IMPERATOR. But skip ahead a few years,
and you get his coins with a military trophy and
ANTONIUS IMPERATOR TERTIO -- purely Republican. I
think what happened was that Antony's claim to be
Caesar's successor (and in Caesar's own terms) was
so thoroughly undermined by Octavian, Caesar's
civil heir, and by clever manipulations the
political heir, that he reverted to a
pseudo-Republican stance to set against Octavian's
plainly dynastic direction. This was then spoiled
by his alliance with Cleopatra, but that's another
story. (3) Back to Brutus as IMP. With Caesar as
antecedent you could argue that Brutus was
claiming the same power (and the same as Antony's
claim). But I can't believe that. Insensitive he
was, and not very smart, but to claim the supreme
power -- and that means over all his colleagues in
the tyrannicide, who never gave any indication
that they saw him in these terms -- is so totally
unrealistic: he was, in law, a provincial governor
at the time. Here too we have Dio, in the passage
just preceding the one cited above, 47.25.2: "he
invaded the country of the Bessi, in the hope that
he might at one and the same time punish them for
the mischief they were doing and invest himself
with the title and dignity of IMPERATOR..." Again,
you can accept Dio or not, but he doesn't seem to
be bothered by the title here, and actually gives
it a sensible Republican context (again note the
rules: you couldn't claim the title in civil war,
in fighting fellow-citizens: so you go out and
find some non-Romans to massacre, then claim the
title which was indeed particularly prestigious
[strike fear into the hearts of your enemies,
though they didn't seem much impressed by it: see
Philippi]). To me Brutus' coin, types and title
are no more sinister than that. Ted Buttrey http://www.bitsofhistory.com/moneta-l.html.
- http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/imp/brutus/RSC_0015.3-o.jpg
http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/imp/brutus/RSC_0015.3-r.jpg
Cr-508/3, Syd-1301 (R9), [sothebys.amazon.com
Guarantee] C-15 (350 Fr.); Cahn,
[sothebys.amazon.com] Quaderni ticinesi 1989, no.
10b, pl.II (this coin). Obv: BRVT IMP L PLAET CEST
Head o... read more Minimum Bid: $110,000.00 (No
Reserve) Estimate: (110000 - (In U.S. 150000)
Dollars) Closes In: Closed. Seller: hjbcoins See
more by this seller Number of 0 (starting Bids: bid:
$110,000.00) Description (guaranteed) Ides of March
Denarius, the Nelson Bunker Hunt specimen, 43-42 AD,
Cr-508/3, Syd-1301 (R9), C-15 (350 Fr.); Cahn,
Quaderni ticinesi 1989, no. 10b, pl.II (this coin).
Obv: BRVT IMP L PLAET CEST Head of Brutus r. Rx: EID
MAR Liberty cap and two daggers. Ex Sotheby's, New
York, 19 June 1990, N.B.Hunt, 119; Sternberg, 30
Nov. 1973, 10; Stack's, 20 Nov. 1967, H.P.
McCollough, 1032; and Naville Ars Classica XV, 1930,
Woodward, 1315. Also published in the Hunt
exhibition catqalogue, Wealth of the Ancient World,
no. 119. With this famous reverse type Brutus
commemorates his assassination of Julius Caesar on
the notorious Ides of March, 44 BC, and claims that
the deed was done to secure liberty for the Roman
people (the liberty cap). This sentiment does not
prevent him, however, from placing his own portrait
on the coin, like a Hellenistic monarch and like
Caesar himself shortly before his death! This coin
commemorates the most important single day event in
ancient history. There is barely a person living in
the Western world today who doesn't know the words
written by William Shakespeare, "Et Tu Brute" or the
words Eid Mar inscribed on the rx of this coin. The
fact that a man would commit a political murder and
put the date of that murder and the implements used
to do it on the rx of the coin between which is a
cap representing Liberty and freedom and on the
other side, his portrait and his name with the
inscription IMP or imperator is remarkable. On this
coin, he not only commemorates the act and the day
that he saved the Republic, but contradicts the
meaning and spirit of the rx of the coin by placing
his portrait on the obv and saluting himself as
emperor. Somewhat more than 50 of these remarkable
coins exist. The fact that far more than 50 people
would like to own one, along with the additional
fact that most of these coins are in museums, has
created the justifiable price structure that exists
today. Condition: This coin is nearly EF on the obv,
save a hairline scratch from in back of Brutus' head
to the tip of the T, which I noticed when I viewed
the coin in 1990 at the Hunt Sale. The rx has two
old hairlines above and to the left of the Liberty
cap, but is otherwise EF. With its pedigree, this is
one of the most famous of all the Eid Mar coins.
Additional Specifications Number of Items in Lot: 1
Weight: 3.72g.
Concludo
osservando che la moneta originale, piuttosto rara, è
preziosa perché costituisce un vero e proprio
monumento storico. Quanto alle monete di figura esse
sono invece delle riproduzioni moderne, come si può
rilevare agevolmente dalla piccola "R" sul rovescio,
al di sotto del pileo. Esse fanno parte della serie
dei riconî moderni che negli anni 80 accompagnavano le
confezioni dei biscotti Mister Day - Parmalat.
Concludo ricordando che le monete in esame fanno parte
di una serie emessa negli anni 80 dalla Parmalat come
gadget pubblicitari di una linea di prodotti dolciari
(biscotti/merendine per bambini) denominata Mister Day
(v. link).
Tutte
le
monete
della
serie
recano
una piccola "R" sul rovescio ad indicare che sono
riproduzioni. Un'ultima osservazione è che, essendo le
monete in esame il risultato di una produzione
industriale, presentano caratteristiche fisiche più o
meno identiche (peso, diametro e forma del contorno) e
in ciò si differenziano dalle monete romane autentiche
che, prodotte semiartigianalmente, non garantivano
elevati standard di uniformità. In considerazione
della larga diffusione di queste monete e del loro
contenuto didattico, ritengo utile farne oggetto di
trattazione in questa rubrica.
Cordiali saluti.
Giulio De Florio
--------------------------------------------
>Note:
(1) Denario
(argento). Raccolgo in tabella le caratteristiche
fisiche dei denari di Marco Giunio Bruto tratte
dai link di cui sopra e dal sito
dell'ANS
(American Numismatic Society):
Riferimenti |
Peso
(g.) |
Diametro
(mm) |
Asse
di conio (h) |
Link1 |
3,51 |
- |
12 |
Link3 |
3,72 |
- |
- |
ANS7 |
3,79 |
19 |
1 |
ANS10 |
3,72 |
18 |
12 |
La moneta del secondo lettore (3,32g, 19-20 mm)
presenta caratteristiche fisiche sostanzialmente non
dissimili da quelle delle monete autentiche del
periodo.
(2) La moneta fu coniata in
Oriente, dove Marco Giunio Bruto e Caio Cassio
Longino, gli assassini di Cesare, erano andati ad
occupare, per nomina senatoriale, il posto di
governatori, rispettivamente della Macedonia e della
Siria, dopo una fuga precipitosa da Roma determinata
dall'esigenza di sfuggire alla vendetta dei
cesariani. I due si erano ricongiunti a Sardi, città
della Lidia (Turchia) ad Est dell'odierna Smirne e
lì si erano accordati per raccogliere truppe da
opporre, in nome degli ideali repubblicani, ad
Antonio e all'astro nascente della politica romana,
Ottaviano, erede designato di Cesare. Lì avevano
ricevuto dalle truppe l'acclamazione e con
l'approvazione del senato del diritto di fregiarsi
del titolo di "imperator", che veniva concesso ai
generali vittoriosi.
(3) BRVTus IMPerator. Il titolo
di "imperator" concesso a Bruto dopo l'acclamazione
delle truppe è cosa diversa da quello di
"imperatore" oggi utilizzato per indicare gli
"Augusti", i principi cioè o i governanti che si
succedettero nella Roma imperiale da Ottaviano in
poi. In epoca imperiale il titolo di imperator
veniva spesso conferito agli Augusti e aggiunto alla
loro titolatura per evidenziare le capacità militari
del principe. Ciò comporta che quando noi oggi
chiamiamo "imperatore" il principe attribuiamo
impropriamente all'aspetto militare del comando
maggiore importanza che alla funzione civile.
(4) Lucius PLAETorius CESTianus
è il magistrato monetale, al seguito di Bruto,
responsabile della zecca itinerante che batteva le
monete necessarie per pagare le truppe. La moneta in
questione, con lugubre simbolismo, recava sul dritto
l'immagine di Bruto e sul rovescio il
pileo (il berretto simbolo della libertà) posto tra
due daghe, le armi con le quali i congiurati avevano
colpito Cesare nelle Idi di Marzo (15 Marzo) del 44
a.C. Il messaggio della moneta è trasparente: Bruto
rivendicava a sé il regicidio e la libertà
riconquistata con la forza delle armi (Brutus
imperator).
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