archaicwonder: The Only Roman Coin To Openly Celebrate An Act Of Murder: The Ides of March DenariusT
archaicwonder: The Only Roman Coin To Openly Celebrate An Act Of Murder: The Ides of March DenariusThis coin, worth about $546,000, is a silver denarius struck by Julius Caesar’s assassin Marcus Brutus in 42 BC, celebrating the infamous deed that occurred on March 15, 44 BC.The dime-sized silver coin depicts the head of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the ringleaders of the assassination plot, on its obverse. The reverse depicts a dome-shaped liberty cap, flanked by two drawn daggers, and the Latin inscription EID MAR.This is the only Roman coin to openly celebrate an act of murder, the only Roman coin to mention a specific date and one of the very few ancient coins to enter the popular imagination.Not only is this one of the finest examples known of this historic rarity, this ‘Ides of March’ denarius once resided in the collections of well-known Hollywood producer Sy Weintraub and the actor Peter Weller. It was also in the world-famous Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, sold in 1990, with an auction pedigree going back to the early 1900s. As an important historic coin with a distinguished pedigree, it is one of the most desirable collectible of any kind that one could ever imagine acquiring. -- source link