Sale: CNG 61, Lot: 1595. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2002.  Sold For $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

L. Servius Rufus. 41 BC. AR Denarius (3.61 gm). Bare head of Brutus right / The Dioscuri standing facing. Crawford 515/2; Sear, CRI 324; Sydenham 1082; Sulpicia 10. Toned VF, uneven strike, porous. Very rare. ($750)

From the Tony Hardy 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.