Rare Coins
Rare silver coin returned to Greece
This rare silver denarium coin, circa 42 BC, was recently acquired from London and repatriated to its home country of Greece as part of an effort to reclaim lost antiquities by the Greek government. It is scheduled to be displayed in the Numismatic Museum of Athens in 2007.
The coin features the face of Marcus Brutus, of Caesar assassination fame. The coin was struck by a mobile military mint, somewhere in Greece in 43 or 42 BC. Armys often traveled with their own minting equipment in order to supply them with cash.
The reverse of the coin (shown) is a clear reminder of Brutus’s role in Julius Caesar’s assassination. Two daggers and an inscription referring to the Ides of March. The item between the daggers is the cap of Liberty, a common design element in Greek coins.
The Barber Fine Arts Institute has a “similar coin”:http://www.barber.org.uk/coins/ifbrutus.html in its collection, one of only 58 or so examples world wide.
Via the Athens News Agency
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