2016-03-15 Tue

Julius Caesar, the “dictator for life” of the Roman Empire was murdered by his own senators at a meeting in a hall next to Pompey’s Theatre on 15th March in 44 BC.

The date 15th March corresponds to the Ides of March on the Roman calendar. The death of Caesar made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history, as one of the events that marked the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. The conspiracy against Caesar encompassed as many as sixty noblemen, including Caesar’s own protégé, Marcus Brutus.

Brutus issued a series of gold and silver coins commemorating the assassination of Julius Caesar. The Ides of March denarius, struck by Brutus in 43-42 BC, are easily the most famous of Roman Republican coins.

The reverse of the coin bears the images of two daggers, between which is a liberty cap, an ancient symbol of freedom. The inscription reads EID MAR, meaning "Eidibus Martiis" or "the Ides of March." The message was meant to convey that on the Ides of March, Brutus set the Romans free.

The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Marcus Brutus. The inscription reads BRVT IMP L PLAET CEST, which means Brutus, Imperator, Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus. Imperator means "honoured military commander" and Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus was the ‘moneyer’ who actually managed the mint workers who produced the coin.

These coins are very rare and valuable. Only 60 specimens of Silver Denarius and 2 gold specimens are known to exist.