Coinage of One of Rome’s “Liberators”
C. Cassius Longinus. Early 42 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.82 g, 6h). Military mint, probably at Smyrna. P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, legate. Filleted tripod surmounted by cortina and two laurel branches / Capis and lituus. Crawford 500/1; CRI 219; Sydenham 1308; RSC 7. Near EF.
The obverse of this rare 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.
