Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXIII 24-25 Mar 2022
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Galba AV Aureus. Rome, July AD 68 - January AD 69. IMP SER GALBA AVG, bare head to right / S P Q R OB C S in two lines, all within oak wreath. RIC I 164; C. 286; BMCRE 29 corr. (bust type); Calicó 509a. 7.38g, 20mm, 9h.
Good Very Fine.
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction XXI, 24 March 2021, lot 549;
Ex Collection of GK, Ukranian Emigrant.
Whilst Galba was proconsul of Nearer Spain, he became an ally of Vindex, the governor of Gaul, in his revolt against Nero. Following Nero's suicide, Galba marched on Rome and was declared emperor by the Senate at the advanced aged of 70, the first princeps from outside of the Julio-Claudian family. Dio Cassius related that Galba put great emphasis on how the Senate had bestowed power on him, that "he did not adopt the name Caesar until the senate's envoys had come to him... or hitherto even styled himself emperor in any communication." After his accession, Cassius wrote, some citizens "even wore liberty caps, signifying that they had now become free... and voted to Galba the prerogatives pertaining to the imperial office." (Epitome LXIII.29.1)
This coin bears numismatic testament to this concern to appear a selfless leader designated by the senate with a clear, unmistakable celebration of the traditional elements of the Roman state. The bold reverse type boldly utilised the traditional type of the corona civica with the legend indicating it was 'bestowed by the Senate and People of Rome, for having saved the citizens'. His portrait, a venerable image of an elder statesman with a deep frown, craggy nose and serious, determined expression, represents a return to the veristic mode of portraiture popular in the heyday of the Republic. Under that structure, authority derived from age, rank and experience, qualities which were emphasised in sculptural portraits of senators at the time, against which the idealised Hellenistic style adopted by Augustus and the later Julio-Claudian emperors appears in marked contrast.
Good Very Fine.
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction XXI, 24 March 2021, lot 549;
Ex Collection of GK, Ukranian Emigrant.
Whilst Galba was proconsul of Nearer Spain, he became an ally of Vindex, the governor of Gaul, in his revolt against Nero. Following Nero's suicide, Galba marched on Rome and was declared emperor by the Senate at the advanced aged of 70, the first princeps from outside of the Julio-Claudian family. Dio Cassius related that Galba put great emphasis on how the Senate had bestowed power on him, that "he did not adopt the name Caesar until the senate's envoys had come to him... or hitherto even styled himself emperor in any communication." After his accession, Cassius wrote, some citizens "even wore liberty caps, signifying that they had now become free... and voted to Galba the prerogatives pertaining to the imperial office." (Epitome LXIII.29.1)
This coin bears numismatic testament to this concern to appear a selfless leader designated by the senate with a clear, unmistakable celebration of the traditional elements of the Roman state. The bold reverse type boldly utilised the traditional type of the corona civica with the legend indicating it was 'bestowed by the Senate and People of Rome, for having saved the citizens'. His portrait, a venerable image of an elder statesman with a deep frown, craggy nose and serious, determined expression, represents a return to the veristic mode of portraiture popular in the heyday of the Republic. Under that structure, authority derived from age, rank and experience, qualities which were emphasised in sculptural portraits of senators at the time, against which the idealised Hellenistic style adopted by Augustus and the later Julio-Claudian emperors appears in marked contrast.