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NYINC Signature Sale 3044 3-4 January 2016
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Otho (AD 69). AR denarius (19mm, 3.48 gm, 6h). Rome, January-April AD 69. IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, bare, bewigged head of Otho right / PONT MAX, Vesta seated left on square-backed throne, veiled, holding patera in right hand and transverse scepter in left. RIC 24 (R3). RSC 7. CBN 29. Rare. An optimal example, perfectly centered and struck on a broad, round flan, and possessing a superior portrait. NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Born in AD 32 to a nouveau riche family, Marcus Salvius Otho grew up as a pampered playboy with a taste for the finer things in life. He had a peculiar abhorrence for bodily hair and depilated every part of his body, including his head; to cover his baldness, he then wore a carefully made wig, which can be observed on his numismatic portraits. Otho became one of the Emperor Nero's high-living friends, but this changed abruptly when Nero took a fancy to his wife, Poppaea. Otho was packed off to govern Lusitania, where he stewed and plotted revenge. When Nero's regime collapsed in AD 68, Otho was one of Galba's earliest supporters and followed him back to Rome. He fully expected to be named the old man's heir apparent. Instead, Galba chose a young aristocrat of better breeding, and the furious Otho plotted his removal. He bribed the Praetorian Guards to murder Galba on January 15, AD 69, after which the Senate reluctantly confirmed Otho as emperor. But he immediately faced another rebellion, this time by Vitellius, the governor of lower Germany, whose sizeable army marched on Italy. Otho gathered his men and hurried north to hold the line at the River Po. His generals urged him to wait for reinforcements, but Otho was afraid of defections and ordered a premature attack. The sharp clash at Cremona in northern Italy went decisively against him. Again, his generals urged him to keep fighting, but he decided to spare Rome further bloodshed and stabbed himself in the heart the morning of April 16 or 17, AD 69. His noble end gained him a respect that had eluded him in life.
Estimate: 7000-10000 USD
Otho (AD 69). AR denarius (19mm, 3.48 gm, 6h). Rome, January-April AD 69. IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, bare, bewigged head of Otho right / PONT MAX, Vesta seated left on square-backed throne, veiled, holding patera in right hand and transverse scepter in left. RIC 24 (R3). RSC 7. CBN 29. Rare. An optimal example, perfectly centered and struck on a broad, round flan, and possessing a superior portrait. NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Born in AD 32 to a nouveau riche family, Marcus Salvius Otho grew up as a pampered playboy with a taste for the finer things in life. He had a peculiar abhorrence for bodily hair and depilated every part of his body, including his head; to cover his baldness, he then wore a carefully made wig, which can be observed on his numismatic portraits. Otho became one of the Emperor Nero's high-living friends, but this changed abruptly when Nero took a fancy to his wife, Poppaea. Otho was packed off to govern Lusitania, where he stewed and plotted revenge. When Nero's regime collapsed in AD 68, Otho was one of Galba's earliest supporters and followed him back to Rome. He fully expected to be named the old man's heir apparent. Instead, Galba chose a young aristocrat of better breeding, and the furious Otho plotted his removal. He bribed the Praetorian Guards to murder Galba on January 15, AD 69, after which the Senate reluctantly confirmed Otho as emperor. But he immediately faced another rebellion, this time by Vitellius, the governor of lower Germany, whose sizeable army marched on Italy. Otho gathered his men and hurried north to hold the line at the River Po. His generals urged him to wait for reinforcements, but Otho was afraid of defections and ordered a premature attack. The sharp clash at Cremona in northern Italy went decisively against him. Again, his generals urged him to keep fighting, but he decided to spare Rome further bloodshed and stabbed himself in the heart the morning of April 16 or 17, AD 69. His noble end gained him a respect that had eluded him in life.
Estimate: 7000-10000 USD