A Distinguished Collection of Roman Bronze Coins, the Property of a Gentleman

Roman Imperial Coinage, Galba, Sestertius, Rome, June-August 68, laureate and draped bust right, imp ser galba avg tr p, rev. spqr ob civ ser in three lines within oak-wreath, s c in field, 23.30g (RIC 262; BMC 117; C 297; Sear 2125). Better than very fine, olive-green patina £800-1,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Distinguished Collection of Roman Bronze Coins, the Property of a Gentleman.

View
Collection

Provenance: C.S. Bement Collection, Naville Auction VIII (Lucerne), 25-8 June 1924, lot 683; E.G. Spencer-Churchill Collection, Ars Classica Auction XIII (Lucerne), 27-9 June 1928, lot 1606; bt Spink May 1938.

The two most prolific reverse types of Galba are Roma and the oak-wreath. “This was Galba’s twofold rallying cry, that by accepting his acceptance by the Senate and People he had saved and preserved Rome through his military leadership,” (RIC I, p.225). Despite the uncertainty and political turbulence of the times, the dies for the coinage of Galba maintain a remarkably high standard of workmanship and style, producing some of the best portraiture of the period