| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 440 Price realized: 20,000 USD (Approx. 16,956 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. AV Aureus (19mm, 8.05 g, 12h). Military mint (Smyrna?); M. Aquinus, legatus. Diademed head of Libertas right; M • AQVINVS • LEG • LIBER (TA)S around / Tripod surmounted by the cortina and two laurel-branches; fillet on each side, C • CASSI upward to left, PR • COS upward to right. Crawford 498/1; CRI 217; Sydenham 1302; Calicó 63; Biaggi –; RBW 1759. In NGC encapsulation 6831189-002, graded AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 2/5, Brushed, edge bend. Very rare variety. Ex Oslo Myntgalleri 38 (4 May 2024), lot 813; Gorny & Mosch 159 (8 October 2007), lot 345. Born into a senatorial family but lacking any talent for politics, Gaius Cassius Longinus found soldiering more to his liking and joined the triumvir Crassus on his doomed expedition against the Parthians in 53 BC. Cassius managed to rescue himself and a handful of others from the massacre and escaped to Roman Syria, where he remained for another two years ably defending the province from Parthian attack. He returned to Rome as a war hero in 51 BC and fell in with the Pompeian faction, serving as commander of Pompey's fleet during the civil war of 49-48 BC. After Pompey's defeat and death, Cassius accepted a pardon from Caesar and loyally served him for the next four years. Cassius perhaps hoped to attain supreme power once Caesar retired, but it soon became apparent the dictator had no intention of stepping down. Thus, Cassius suborned his close friend Marcus Junius Brutus and several other senators into a conspiracy, and he was one of the first to plunge his dagger into Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BC. After fleeing Rome with the other conspirators, Cassius returned to Syria and commandeered several legions and a fleet, which he used to attack and pillage the wealthy island of Rhodes in order to procure gold for the approaching civil war. He joined forces with Brutus in 42 BC and the two marched into Thrace to meet the pro-Caesarian legions led by Mark Antony and Octavian. Though their army outnumbered the Caesarians, Cassius and Brutus seemed oddly fatalistic and made a suicide pact should either meet defeat or capture. At the first clash at Philippi in early October, Cassius suffered a loss and rashly fell on his sword before he could be told that Brutus had counterattacked and saved the day. Demoralized by his friend's death, Brutus was easily defeated three weeks later and took his own life. Estimate: 15000 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 441 Price realized: 4,750 USD (Approx. 4,027 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.47 g, 6h). Military mint, probably at Smyrna; P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, legatus. Tripod surmounted by cortina and two laurel branches, fillet hanging on either side / Capis and lituus. Crawford 500/1; CRI 219; Sydenham 1308; RSC 7; RBW 1761. Lustrous, small die breaks on reverse. EF. Ex Peter Bowe Collection; Randy Haviland Collection (Gemini X, 13 January 2013), lot 340, purchased from Harlan J. Berk, April 2007. The obverse of this denarius closely copies the reverse of the aureus struck by M. Aquinius, and was probably minted on the occasion of the meeting in Smyrna between Cassius and Brutus. The capis and lituus, symbols of the pontificate, recall Spinther's election to that college in 57 BC. Estimate: 1000 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 590 | Auction date: 2 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 640 Price realized: 350 USD (Approx. 297 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. Fourrée Denarius (18mm, 3.51 g, 2h). Military mint, probably at Smyrna; P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, legatus. Tripod surmounted by cortina and two laurel branches, fillet hanging on either side / Capis and lituus. Cf. Crawford 500/1; cf. CRI 219; cf. Sydenham 1308; cf. RSC 7; cf. RBW 1761. Toned, plating broken at high points. VF. Seldon seen as a fourrée. From the Doctore Collection. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 596 | Auction date: 1 October 2025 |
| Lot number: 666 Price realized: 425 USD (Approx. 362 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.93 g, 7h). Military mint, probably at Smyrna; P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, legatus. Diademed head of Libertas right / Capis and lituus. Crawford 500/3; CRI 221; Sydenham 1307; RSC 4a; RBW 1762. Toned, remnants of find patina. Good VF. Estimate: 300 USD |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 130 | Auction date: 23 September 2025 |
| Lot number: 442 Price realized: 1,500 USD (Approx. 1,272 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. Brutus. Late summer-autumn 42 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.79 g, 12h). Military mint traveling with Brutus and Cassius in western Asia Minor or northern Greece; Pedanius Costa, legatus. Laureate head of Apollo right / Trophy composed of cuirass, crested helmet, oval shield with incurved sides, and two crossed spears. Crawford 506/2; CRI 209; Sydenham 1296; RSC 4; RBW 1778. Lightly toned, traces of find patina, minor porosity and scratches. VF. From the Doctore Collection. Brutus is best known for his role in the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC. This action, while often thought as an attempt to save liberty and justice, was actually meant to try to preserve aristocracy and privilege. Brutus and the other conspirators wanted to restore power to the Senate, comprised of the wealthiest and most powerful of Roman citizens. This brought him in conflict with Julius Caesar, who wanted to break the old power holds in the Senate, populating it with men of lower rank and birth. In a way, Julius Caesar could be seen as promoting a dictatorship with some flavor of a democracy, whereas Brutus and the other conspirators were attempting to save the aristocracy. After their assassination of Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius occupied Rome but had to flee when a funeral oration delivered by Caesar's protégé, Marc Antony, turned public opinion against them. Brutus and Cassius went their separate ways but met again in early 42 BC in Smyrna, Ionia, where they began preparations for the inevitable conflict that would ensue between them and Marc Antony and Octavian, Caesar's grandnephew. They began using their armies to conquer cities, for which this series of coins was undoubtedly issued. The title IMP on the reverse shows that Brutus still styled himself the savior of the Republic, as that was a title only the Senate could award. Estimate: 500 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 588 | Auction date: 4 June 2025 |
| Lot number: 474 Price realized: 325 USD (Approx. 285 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: The Republicans. C. Cassius Longinus. Spring 42 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.03 g, 6h). Military mint, probably at Smyrna; P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, legatus. Diademed head of Libertas right / Capis and lituus. Crawford 500/3; CRI 221; Sydenham 1307; RSC 4a; RBW 1762. Lightly toned with underlying luster, porosity, light hairlines on reverse, trace deposits. VF. Ex Jonathan Kern. Estimate: 150 USD |  |
