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Roman Republic, Denarius

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Roman Republic, Denarius (obverse) Roman Republic, Denarius (reverse)

The moneyer of this Roman denarius was Marcus Junius Brutus, a fervent opposer of everybody he believed to have ambitions for dictatorial power. The design is a pushback to the supposed aspiration of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus at that time. Ten years later Brutus joined the conspiracy against Gaius Julius Caesar for the same reasons.

The obverse depicts Libertas, the goddess of Freedom, with the inscription LIBERTAS. She represents the republican form of government that excludes any form of autarchy.

The reverse shows an ancestor of our moneyer, Lucius Junius Brutus. In 509 BC he allegedly killed the last Roman king and established the Republic. He is walking between two lictors, officials who carried bundles of birch rods before magistrates; in front is another official. Alle these symbols stood for the authority of the State.

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