Quintus Labienus Parthicus, 42-39 BC. Denarius (Silver, 17 mm, 3.85 g, 5 h), uncertain mint moving with Labienus in southeastern Asia Minor, early 40. Q•LABIENVS• PARTHICVS•IMP Bare head of Labienus to right. Rev. Bridled and saddled horse standing to right, with quiver hanging from the saddle. Babelon (Atia) 3. Crawford 524/2. CRI 341. Hersh 17 (dies F/15). RBW 1809. Sydenham 1357. Very rare and undoubtedly among the finest known examples of this historically important issue. Lightly toned, sharply struck in high relief, and with an exceptional portrait of fine style. Very minor porosity and with a few light deposits and tiny marks, otherwise, good extremely fine.

Quintus Labienus was a Roman nobleman whose father, Titus, a former successful general in Caesar's Gallic Wars, was killed by the imperator at the Battle of Munda in 45 BC. After Caesar’s assassination on the Ides of March in 44 BC, the younger Labienus joined the cause of Cassius and Brutus. They sent him as an envoy to the Parthian King Orodes II (57-38 BC) to seek the King's aid against the Caesarians. Upon arriving in Ktesiphon, Labienus learned of the disastrous defeat of the Republicans at the Battle of Philippi, along with the subsequent proscriptions of political opponents by the triumvirs. With no options left, he chose to side with the Parthians and sought to persuade Orodes to attack the Roman Empire. In early 40 BC, a large Parthian army, under the joint command of Prince Pakoros and Labienus, invaded Syria. The army was reinforced by veterans of the legions of Cassius and Brutus. It was during this time that our coin was struck, most likely as part of the payments made by Labienus to his troops. The types are remarkable: the obverse depicts Labienus as 'Parthicus', while the reverse shows a horse with a quiver, referencing the Parthian cavalry that had annihilated Crassus' army at Carrhae thirteen years earlier. The threat posed by Labienus and his Parthian allies was significant enough to compel Mark Antony and Octavian to reconcile in October 40 BC and send an army under the command of P. Ventidius Bassus to repel the invasion. Bassus proved to be an able commander, decisively defeating Labienus and his Parthian allies in several battles between 39 and 38 BC. Roman rule over the East was eventually restored. Labienus himself was captured in Cilicia by a freedman of Caesar named Demetrios and put to death as a traitor. As the last of the 'Liberators' to continue the fight against the Caesarians, Labienus remains one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in Roman history. Some have labeled him an unscrupulous traitor to his people, while others have praised him as the last defender of the res publica against the tyranny of the Caesarians. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle: the defeat of Cassius and Brutus at Philippi left Labienus with few options, but the sight of a Roman nobleman leading a Parthian invasion into the Empire undoubtedly casts a dark shadow over his legacy