Both sides of an irregularly shaped silver-gray coin with relief decoration on each side.　
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

On the side of the coin on the left is a man's head facing right, short tendrils of curly hair sit atop head; surrounding the border, small dots and the Latin characters: B R V T / I M P / P L A E T / C E S T. The other side of the coin depicts a brimless hat between two downwards facing daggers; surrounding the border, small dots and the Latin characters: E I D / M A R.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.244
People
Issued by L. Plaetorius Cestianus, Roman
L. Junius Brutus, Roman
Title
Denarius of L. Plaetorius Cestianus for Brutus, Moving Mint
Classification
Coins
Work Type
coin
Date
43-42 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Moving Mint
Period
Roman Republican period
Culture
Roman Republican
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/195435

Physical Descriptions

Medium
silver
Metal
AR
Technique
Struck
Dimensions
3.76 g
Die Axis
12
Denomination
denarius
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Obverse Inscription: Around, clockwise, BRVT.IMP; around, counter-clockwise, -brvt impL.PLAET.CEST
  • Reverse Inscription: EID.MAR

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Naville XVII, 3 October 1934, lot 1113

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
RRC 508/3; Syd 1301

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.244
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Obv.: Head of Brutus r., bare headed, with slight beard.
Rev.: Cap of Liberty (pileus) between two daggers with points downwards.

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973)
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 119, no. 134, ill.
  • Stephan Wolohojian, ed., Harvard Art Museum/Handbook (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008)

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • The Portrait, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 10/15/2004 - 01/09/2005

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights
  • Ancient Coins

Related Digital Tours

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu