The Roman Empire
Domitian


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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: NGC CHOICE UNCIRCULATED
Owner: Kohaku
 
Set Category: Ancients
Set Name: The Roman Empire
Slot Name: Domitian
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

Marcus Junius Brutus (85 – 42 BC) was the son of Brutus the Elder and Servilia Caepionis. His mother was also mistress to Julius Caesar, prompting speculation that Brutus was the illegitimate son of the future Dictator. The young Brutus started his career working for his uncle, Cato the Younger. He later held important political posts and made a fortune moneylending in the provinces, subsequently becoming one of Rome’s most influential Senators. In 49 BC when Caesar started a Roman civil war, Brutus initially aligned with Pompey, even thought the latter was previously his enemy. After Pompey’s defeat, Brutus switched sides, and Caesar accepted him into his inner circle, even making him governor of Gaul. While Brutus appreciated Caesar’s confidence, he was troubled by colleague’s obsession with controlling Rome. He became even more disturbed as Caesar made himself non-impeachable, and gained censorial control and veto power over the Senate. By 44 BC when Caesar earned the title of Dictator for life, Brutus was alarmed to the point he decided to take action. Brutus was not alone: other members of the Roman elite also opined it was in Rome’s best interests - and their own - to murder their dictator. On the Ides of March, 44 AD, Brutus, along with dozens of other aristocrats, stabbed Caesar to death. After the assassination, Brutus fled Rome, and soon became embroiled in civil war against Caesar’s co-consul, Marc Anthony, and heir, Octavian (later known as Augustus). In 42 BC, the conflict reached its climax, the Battle of Philippi. There were two battles. In the first, Brutus conquered Octavian's forces; however, he lost his ally, Cassius, to Marc Antony’s troops. In the second battle, Brutus’ men were defeated, and he fled the battlefield. Realizing he would soon be captured, Brutus committed suicide. This gold stater was struck in Thrace or Dacia during the times these historic events occurred. The obverse depicts three men, wearing togas, walking to the left, two of them carrying objects over their shoulders. The figures are Roman lictors (bodyguards) carrying fasces (axe-like weapons), and the motif bears striking resemblance to coins issued by Brutus a decade prior. In exergue is the enigmatic epithet KOSON. On the verso, an eagle stands on a scepter, facing to the left, its right claw raised, holding a wreath. This design also resembles earlier Roman Republican coins. Attribution of this issue is highly debated in numismatic circles, to the point where this particular ancient coin has become famous, or perhaps infamous. One hypothesis for the coin’s origin is that was struck by Brutus, who fled to Greece after Caesar’s assassination and used his enormous wealth combined with Senate funds to produce coins funding his army. An alternate theory, which has gained favor over time, is that the coin was issued in Thrace or Dacia by a King called Koson, and was merely imitating Roman designs. According to this scenario, Brutus had nothing to do with the coins besides inspiration. Compelling arguments support both theories. Adding to the controversy, two versions of the coin exist, those with a mysterious BR monogram on the obverse, and those without. It has been postulated that the BR refers to Brutus, or alternatively to BA(sileus), i.e, king, as in King Koson; however, there are no records of a King by that name (although there was a King Kotison). Recently, both monogrammed and non-monogrammed versions of these Koson staters were examined for their composition. These studies provided a highly sensitive elemental fingerprint for each coin. It was found that all coins without the monogram were made from native alluvial gold (for example, all had trace amounts of tin), the same composition that was found for other Dacian gold artifacts, i.e., bracelets, that were made at the time. In contrast, all the coins with the BR monogram lacked tin, and were of highly purified gold. This finding leads to an intriguing possibility: the coins with the BR monogram were produced by Brutus using highly refined gold, and the non-monogrammed coins were imitations made later by Thracians or Dacians using their own methods and local alluvial gold. This particular coin is the non-monogrammed type. At that time it was graded by NGC Ancients, its attribution was according to the Brutus origin theory. An example of the monogrammed counterpart – which, perhaps ironically, was attributed to Thrace or Dacia – is present in the NGC Custom Set called The Ancient World Collection. Whether Brutus minted both, either, or neither of the coin types is the subject of ongoing debate, illustrating the fascination and intrigue of ancient coin collecting. Additional Reading: B Constantinescu, D Cristea-Stan, A Vasilescu, R Simon, D Ceccato, “Archaeometallurgical Characterization of Ancient Gold Artifacts from Romanian Museums using XRF, Micro-PIXE and Micro-SR-XRF Methods,” Proc Romanian Acad 13:19-26, 2012. Coin Details: ROMAN – BRUTUS, 44-42 BC, AV Stater (8.52 g), NGC Grade: Choice Uncirculated, Obverse: Roman Consul with two Lictors, KOSON in exergue, Reverse: Eagle on scepter, holding wreath, References: RPC 1701B; BMC Thrace pg. 208, 2; BMCRR II pg. 475, 50.

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