Nomos AG
obolos 26 18 Dec 2022
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
L. Cassius Longinus, 60 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.80 g, 7 h), Rome. Veiled and diademed head of Vesta to left; to right, two-handled cup; to left, Δ. Rev. LONGIN · III · V Voter standing left, dropping tablet marked V into a cista. Babelon (Cassia) 10. Crawford 413/1. Sydenham 935. Reverse struck from a somewhat worn die, otherwise, very fine.
As it was usual in Roman Republican times, the moneyer of this issue used his magistrature to put his family and famous ancestors into the spotlight. He chose the most famous among them - L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla, who had served as consul and censor about half a century earlier. In his time, Ravilla proposed a new method of jury voting that established a form of 'secret ballot', known as the Lex Cassia Tabellaria. Jurors could mark their verdict on a small tablet and drop it into a basket to be counted by a court official. The practice also extended to voting on laws proposed in the Comitia Tributa and Concilium Plebis, the people's assemblies. Combined with the obverse, this reverse alludes to the Trial of the Vestal Virgins of 113 BC conducted by a special commission, presided over by Ravilla. Three Vestals were accused of unchastity and condemned to death by being burried alive. The V on the tablet stands for VTI ROGAS, 'I approve'. For an in-depth analysis of the Vestal scandal, see: P. Erdkamp, War, Vestal Virgins, and Live Burials in the Roman Republic, in: M. Dillon and C. Matthew (eds.), Religion and Classical Warfare. II: The Roman Republic (2020), 180-215.
Cicero was a great fan of the severe Ravilla and refers to him in his speech for Sextus Roscius as the first man who asked the question 'cui bono?' in lawsuits: "Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat 'cui bono' fuisset. Sic vita hominum est ut ad maleficium nemo conetur sine spe atque emolumento accedere." Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio Amerino, 84.
As it was usual in Roman Republican times, the moneyer of this issue used his magistrature to put his family and famous ancestors into the spotlight. He chose the most famous among them - L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla, who had served as consul and censor about half a century earlier. In his time, Ravilla proposed a new method of jury voting that established a form of 'secret ballot', known as the Lex Cassia Tabellaria. Jurors could mark their verdict on a small tablet and drop it into a basket to be counted by a court official. The practice also extended to voting on laws proposed in the Comitia Tributa and Concilium Plebis, the people's assemblies. Combined with the obverse, this reverse alludes to the Trial of the Vestal Virgins of 113 BC conducted by a special commission, presided over by Ravilla. Three Vestals were accused of unchastity and condemned to death by being burried alive. The V on the tablet stands for VTI ROGAS, 'I approve'. For an in-depth analysis of the Vestal scandal, see: P. Erdkamp, War, Vestal Virgins, and Live Burials in the Roman Republic, in: M. Dillon and C. Matthew (eds.), Religion and Classical Warfare. II: The Roman Republic (2020), 180-215.
Cicero was a great fan of the severe Ravilla and refers to him in his speech for Sextus Roscius as the first man who asked the question 'cui bono?' in lawsuits: "Cassius ille quem populus Romanus verissimum et sapientissimum iudicem putabat identidem in causis quaerere solebat 'cui bono' fuisset. Sic vita hominum est ut ad maleficium nemo conetur sine spe atque emolumento accedere." Cicero, Pro Sexto Roscio Amerino, 84.