Crawford 433/1, Roman Republic, Q. Caepio Brutus, Denarius

Roman Republic (Rome mint 54 BC.), Q. Caepio Brutus or better known as M. Junius Brutus (85 BC - 42 BC, the most famous of Caesar's assassins).
AR Denarius (3.71 g, 19-21 mm).
Obv.: Head of Liberty r., LIBERTAS behind.
Rev.: L. Junius Brutus, consul 509 BC, walking l. between two lictors who hold fasces over shoulder, and preceded by accensus; BRVTVS in exergue.
Crawford 433/1; Sydenham 906a; Junia 31a.

The moneyer of this coin, Quintus Caepio Brutus, is more famously known in history as Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the men who assassinated Julius Caesar. Brutus was born in 85 BC and on the death of his father was adopted by his uncle. Hence the name Q. Caepio Brutus which occurs on official public documents and on coins. In 59 BC he assumed the office of moneyer and in the next year accompanied Cato to Cyprus. Upon his return to Rome he sided with the party of Pompey and fought against Caesar at Dyrrhachium in 48 BC. After the battle at Pharsalus, Brutus was pardoned by Caesar becoming governor of Cisalpine Gaul in 46 BC, holder of the high office of praetor of the city in 44 BC, and receiving a promise by Caesar to hold the governorship of Macedonia. Despite this, he joined the conspiracy which helped to assassinate Caesar and met his fate on the battlefields at Philippi where he was defeated by the forces of Octavian and Marc Antony and there committed suicide.
The obverse of this coin contains the head of the goddess Liberty along with her Latin name LIBERTAS which is on the right. This type was chosen by Brutus who sided with Pompey on the grounds that he most favored the cause of freedom. The reverse depicts Brutus’ ancestor Lucius Junius Brutus walking between two lictors and preceded by an accensus. The lictors accompanied the consuls during official exercises such as senatorial sessions carrying the fasces, a bundle of rods with an ax in the middle which symbolized the authority of the consuls. The accensus was a minor official or attendant of a consul. According to history, L. Junius Brutus drove the Tarquin kings from Rome and served the first consulship of the Republic in 509 BC. M. Junius Brutus, the moneyer, is claiming descent from this great historical figure for propaganda purposes in order to drive forward his own political career which was aiming towards the consulship.

This type illustrates the strong republican view of M. Junius Brutus and shows Brutus intentions long before he joined the conspiracy against Caesar. In 54 everybody in Rome was afraid that Pompey could seek for the office of Dictator and try to win the autocratic rule. Brutus tries here to remind everybody of the great past of Rome when the Romans and especially his ancestor L. Iunius Brutus were not willing to accept tyranny.