This 2,000-year-old coin might get sold for $2 million

The Rare-coin auction house, Numismatica Ars Classica, predicts that the coin marking Julius Caesar's murder could sell for over $2 million when it goes up for auction in May. This ancient coin has been described as a "naked and shameless celebration" of Caesar's assassination by historians.

The auction house states that the coin, called "Eid Mar," meaning "ideas of march," was stamped by Brutus, Caesar's treacherous betrayer, who is depicted in the top half of the article. The cap of freedom between the daggers denotes Rome's independence from Caesar's rule. On March 15th 44BC, Caesar's murderer, a high-ranking official of Caesar's time, is assumed to have worn the coin after the dictator was killed. This coin was issued by Brutus himself after two years of the historic assassination.

The precious gold piece, which is just more undersized than a US quarter in size, is more than two millenniums old. The managing director of Numismatica Ars Classica, Arturo Russo, said it to be priceless yet pricey. He believes this coin is extraordinary in itself. This invaluable commodity is symbolic of a significant historical event that has changed the course of time.


A private collector has loaned the coin to the British Museum for the past decade, and Russo expects the victorious contender is either a collector or an institution. Only three of these coins have been known to survive the test of time. One sold in 2020 at Roma Numismatics in London for an unparalleled exchange of 2.7 million pounds (about $3.5 million). The second one is part of the collection of the German Federal Bank. Especially since many coins from that era were conventionally melted down after a political regime was dethroned, Russo says that it's astonishing that the coin has survived.

During the live auction on May 30th at the BAUR au Lac, the "Eid Mar" will be open for bidding at Zurich.

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