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L. Cassius Longinus. 60 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.01 g, 6h). Rome mint. Veiled and draped bust of Vesta left; L to left, calix to right / Voter standing left, dropping tablet inscribed V (Uti rogas) into cista to left. Crawford 413/1; Sydenham 935; Cassia 10; RBW 1493. Toned with patches of original find patina, minor marks. VF.
Lucius Cassius Longinus was the brother of Gaius Cassius Longinus, later famous as one of Julius Caesar’s principal assassins. He was elected as one of the tresviri monetales for 60 BC; the types he chose allude to one of the family’s illustrious ancestors, L. Cassius Ravilla, Consul in 127 BC, who proposed a new method of jury voting by secret ballot. Known as the Lex Cassia Tabellaria, it provided that in most court cases tried by jury, jurors could mark their verdict on a small tablet and drop it into a basket to be counted by a court official. The practice was also extended to voting on laws in the people’s assemblies, the Comitia Tributa and the Concilium Plebis. This reverse type commemorates that proposal becoming law. The V on the tablet stands for VTI ROGAS, "I approve" of the proposed law.
Closing Date and Time: 29 November 2023 at 11:47:20 ET.
All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.
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