Civil War AV Aureus. Uncertain mint in Spain or Gaul, AD 68. Bare head of Augustus right / Capricorn right, holding globe over rudder; cornucopiae above, AVGVSTVS below. RIC 81; BMCRE 44; Nicolas pl. XX, A2-A3; Calicó 164; ACIP 4095. 6.31g, 19mm, 8h.

Good Very Fine; minor surface marks on neck. Very Rare.

From the property of a UK gentleman.

The anonymous coins of the Civil War of AD 68-69 produced at mints in Spain, Gaul, Northern Italy and possibly North Africa and Germany are notoriously rare and difficult to obtain. They do not name their issuing authorities, but we may safely infer that they were struck in support of Vindex, Galba or Vitellius, depending on the location of their production. Until relatively recently they had largely been ignored by scholars, though in the 1970s Peter-Hugo Martin, Colin Kraay and Etienne-Paul Nicolas all published studies on this obscure series. Many of the coin types are known from only very few examples, or unique specimens, and despite the revolt being brief, a matter of just a few months, the coinage is exceptionally diverse. In common with many of the anonymous issues, this aureus 'restores' types of Augustus, whose self-styled persona as the protector of the liberty of the Roman people made him an obvious choice to champion on the anti-Neronian coinage, at once recalling the great Pax inaugurated by Augustus and at the same time clamouring for a return to just and noble governance. Many of these 'restored' types are quite faithful to their original prototypes, but as is the case with the present specimen, they are distinguishable on account of their somewhat provincial quality both in stylistic and epigraphic terms, as well as the lower weight standard employed. For example this aureus, which directly copies a Spanish mint issue of Augustus (RIC 125; Calicó 164), is light at 6.31g compared to the prototype issue which weighed between 7.70 and 8.00 grams on average.