From Libertas to Liberty: The Foreign Roots of America’s Numismatic Identity

November 12, 2026, 12pm MT

This lecture traces the evolution of liberty as a numismatic symbol from the ancient Mediterranean to the early American republic. Beginning with the Greek and Roman traditions that personified freedom through figures such as Libertas and symbols like the pileus, the talk explores how these classical motifs were revived during the Enlightenment and the Atlantic revolutions of the eighteenth century. These ideas circulated widely through European art, political philosophy, and coinage long before the founding of the United States.

When the young American republic began striking its own coins, it drew heavily upon these existing traditions while reshaping them into a distinctly American visual language. Early United States coinage, including Liberty Cap and Flowing Hair designs, reflects a deliberate effort to adapt classical and European symbols of freedom into a new national identity. Comparisons between Roman Libertas coinage, Enlightenment-era European medals, and early American Liberty Cap coinage reveal how the young republic adapted familiar imagery into a new political language.

Russ Bega began collecting U.S. coins when he was 8 years old after a trip to his local coin shop in Northern Colorado. He was previously employed by Heritage Auction Galleries, before departing on a decade-long career as a US Army Infantry Non-Commissioned Officer. In 2021, he joined the Harlan J. Berk team in Chicago, IL, where he is now the store manager. His specialty is Liberty Seated coins and 19th-century numismatics.