Geneva: a very rare Roman gold coin put up for auction

A very rare Roman gold coin bearing the image of Brutus, the son and most famous assassin of Julius Caesar, will be auctioned on Monday in Geneva, with a asking price of more than 800,000 euros.

“A numismatist’s eyes shine when he has a coin like that in his hands” because this aureus, the Roman gold coin, is “a piece of history” linked to the last chapters of the Roman Republic, explains to the AFP Frank Baldacci, director of Numismatica Genevensis, responsible for the sale.

This coin was minted in 43-42 BC. BC by “Brutus and his friends who assassinated Julius Caesar” in March 44 BC. BC, he explains. It weighs 8 grams and has a size similar to that of a euro.

Its starting price is 750,000 francs, but it will probably exceed a million and “could go quite high” because it is a bit like “the Da Vinci of Roman currency”, according to Mr. Baldacci.

Propaganda

This particular aureus features on the front the profile of Brutus’ head surrounded by laurel leaves and on the reverse celebrates his recent military victories with warrior symbols. It’s one of 17 known specimens, according to the auction house.

This piece, “struck not in Rome but in a workshop which moved with Brutus and his armies while he tried to grant himself power after assassinating Julius Caesar”, also had a “propaganda value”, says M . Baldacci.

The laurel wreath is really the sign of “someone who wants to promote himself as emperor” who wants to be “caliph in place of the caliph”, he notes, highlighting the inscription “IMP” – for Imperator, head of the armies, a title which would become hereditary under the Empire.

“Extremely rare”

The coin was struck shortly before the very famous battle of Philippi, which Brutus lost against Mark Antony and Octavian and at the end of which he “killed himself”, explains Mr. Baldacci.

The aureus has traveled through the centuries, passing from hand to hand, out of sight.

“We know that during the Renaissance, there were many princes and lords who had collections of Roman coins,” underlines Mr. Baldacci.

The piece only resurfaced in the 1950s when it was published in a private collector’s catalog. It subsequently reappeared at auction in 2006 in Zurich, where it was sold to another private collector for 360,000 francs.

“It’s a currency that returns to the market after a generation. These are extremely rare pieces and the possibility of acquiring them is just as rare,” notes Mr. Baldacci.

The coin is enclosed in an airtight box to prevent it from being altered, and to “guarantee its authenticity,” he says, explaining that certification by specialized companies is done in particular by comparing with other ancient currencies. as well as examining the gold used.

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