In Support of Brutus

Sale: CNG 76, Lot: 1302. Estimate $1500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 12 September 2007.  Sold For $3650. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Servius Rufus. 41 BC. AR Denarius (3.82 g, 12h). Rome mint. Bare head of Brutus(?) right / The Dioscuri standing facing, each holding spear and sword strapped to waist. Crawford 515/2; CRI 324; Sydenham 1082; Sulpicia 10. VF, iridescent gray toning. Rare.

From the Karl Sifferman Collection.

This moneyer is only known from his coins. The obverse bust has traditionally been regarded as portraying Servius Sulpicius Rufus who was responsible for raising the siege of Tusculum in 377 BC. But since the moneyer is a Servius, not a Sulpicius, this identification is probably inaccurate. The portrait does bear a remarkable resemblance to Brutus and it seems perhaps likely that the coin was struck as an expression of political sympathy toward Brutus' cause.