Ever since the illustration on the dustjacket of Sear RCV4, it was a portrait I had to acquire at some point. Since the artistic shakeup under Nero it's in the best Roman style. With Vespasian - some of his are too realistic if anything! This coin is fissured, eroded and clearly shows Galba as bald, the nose is classic. With a nod to Gladiator, strength and honour on the reverse is a bonus. Show us any other tributes you have out there.
Galba, dupondius... Uncleanable, but nice portrait. On this one he is not bald, he just adopted the military hairstyle, which became later a must for 3rd c. emperors...
Why uncleanable? One could soak in NaOH for a while. While it would probably strip the patina, it would remove the encrustation. I guess it depends on which is more valuable - intact patina, or lack of encrustations.
I like ol’ grumpy-faced, hook-nosed Galba. He looks like he was a no-nonsense kinda guy. And not someone you’d likely wanna cross. Sestertius/Libertas
Thanks, but I like that patina... I shall never attempt to clean this dupondius. Maybe, after my death, if none of my heirs wants to keep this coin and they sell or give it it to some collector or museum, somebody will try to clean it. According to the result, my ghost will haunt and torment him/her at night, or not.
Can’t blame ‘em for trying, if they do it. The unencrusted surfaces are so nice that it would be very tempting to attempt conservation, in hopes of matching the rest. (But I also don’t blame you for not wanting to tinker with it.)
Wonderful portrait. I only have a provincial that is quite worn - but there is no mistaking "old stone face".. AE23, Syria, Antioch Mint Obverse: [IMP SER GALBA] CAE AVG, laureate head right. Reverse: Large SC within laurel wreath of eight leaves, fastened at top with pellet, between inner circle and outer dotted border.
