Watch List notes:

JDL Collection Part II: Roman Coins
THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

GALBA, June 8(?), 68 – January 15, 69.

Sestertius, Rome summer 68, Æ 26.21 g.
Obv. IMP SER SVLP GALBA - CAES AVG TR P
His laureate and draped bust right; border of dots.
Rev. LIBERTAS - PVBLICA / S - C Libertas standing left, holding pileus in right hand and leaning left hand on long sceptre; border of dots.
Literature
Cohen 130
BMC RE I, 320, 71
RIC I2, 247, 309
BN 149
B. M. Kraay, "The AES Coinage of Galba", NNM 133, 1956, 307–311.
Trampitsch 663 (this coin)
M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 52 (this coin)
Condition
Rare. A bold portrait and a very attractive green patina, about extremely fine.

Provenance
Jean Vinchon numismatique, Monte-Carlo 1986, 663 Former Trampitsch collection.

The intensity of the portraits on Galba's sertertii has mesmerised antiquarians ever since the dawn of the Renaissance, when they began to be unearthed in the excavations throughout Italy. After having endured more than a millennium of thin, low-relief coi- nage with utilitarian designs, these ancient masterpieces were nothing less than a spark for a cultural awakening in Europe.
From the 15th Century onward the study and acquisition of coins was considered a prerequisite for gentlemen, and
Enea Vico (1523-1567), author of five works on the subject, suggested that the study of coins could, over time, improve or reform a person's character. Leonardo da Vinci even referenced coins to find images of ancient triumphal arches when he created his designs for the equestrian monuments of Francesco Sforza and Gian Giacomo Trivulzio.
On this sestertius Galba's advanced age and grim countenance are transmitted in a manner that allows the viewer to recall the personality of this aged emperor, whose two strongest character traits, according to Suetonius, were cruelty and greed.