I just won a Galba Denarius on ebay. I need this to move closer to my 12 Caesar Denarii set. It ain't pretty. But like me it'll get by on its "rugged" good looks. I just can't help but worry as I was the only bidder and picked it up for what I felt was a steal at $45. The seller isn't on Forums naughty list. Good history. His Other coins look legit as well. Could I ask for your opinions on the purchase and coin itself. Other than being beat up any issues? Here are the sellers images: And please post em of you got em!
Thanks Deacon Ray! Haha. I just ment that to prefice that I'm hoping the "rugged beauty" is why I was the only bidder and not cause I was dupped...again.
Some thoughts about this coin: 1. It's unlikely to be a forgery in this condition. 2. Obverse centering is good, and the portrait seems about 90%+ likely to be Galba (some Vitellius denarii portraits can look like Galba). 3. The lack of sufficient obverse legend makes it difficult (at least for me) to be 100% confident this is Galba. I can't determine whether it reads IMP CAES or IMP GALB on the left side of the obverse, and I cannot read any of the legend on the right side of the obverse. 4. The devices and legends on the reverse are completely unidentifiable to my eye, although others may be able to see recognizable letters here. Galba's denarii are notoriously difficult to obtain in decent condition. Overall, if you could be certain that this was indeed a Galba denarius, it would be a satisfactory example for the $45 you paid. It would be better if you could positively identify the RIC number/type, but that seems unlikely with this coin. In the final analysis, it's up to you whether this coin is suitable for your collection and whether you'll be happy with it long term. Please understand that it's not my intention to be negative or discouraging here, but sometimes it's better to leave a hole in your collection unfilled than to buy a marginal coin that you know you'll want to upgrade later.
Very appreciated advice and analysis! I will hopefully get better photos when the coin arrives and then can try and ID the reverse and possibly get the RIC type. I have been trying for a "budget" Galba for some time. So if I can get a positive ID then I will not be aiming to upgrade for some time. Again, many thanks I recall that whenever you post coins I'm always in awe...might you have any Galbas to post?
I did a quick search cuz I was curious and it looks like a lot of Galba denarii start with IMP SER GALBA or SER GALBA IMP, which makes me question this (looks kinda like a Vespasian, maybe?) . But I'm super novice and green regarding Galba anything.
You raise an interesting issue. In my copy of RIC, I was unable to find any Galba denarius with obverse legend that starts IMP CAES -- they all start either IMP GALB or IMP SER. I did, however, notice this VESPASIAN denarius on Wildwinds: Note the position of IMP CAES on this obverse and compare it to the OP coin. I'm not saying the OP coin is a Vespasian, but the amount of wear on that coin makes it possible that it's not a Galba.
For a quick check of legends, ERIC is an easy to use resource. Here's the page for Galba: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=ERIC - GALBA Because IMPC is visible on Ryro's coin, it appears to be someone other than Galba. The portrait looks like Vespasian, and he does have legends with that beginning. It's not Vitellius or Titus either; their legends do not begin IMPC. Sorry, Ryro-- it's not Galba.
Whelp. Thanks for helping. Good detective work @Justin Lee . Looks like I got ebay'd again. smh. So, we're sure its a C and not possibly a G? There are listings of imp galba Caesar aug pp and just imp galba...
Wow. Cool resource. Never used this before. I concur with TIF. The OP coin legend is very likely IMP CAE and thus isn't Galba. The portrait struck me as similar to Vespasian which is why I posted the sample coin above.
There is a lot of variation of portraits on denarii of Galba, but this one does not look like Galba to me.
Looking at the rest of that seller's offerings, I suspect this was an honest, uninformed error. He shows several misidentified coins labeled Diva Faustina when they were lifetime or Lucilla. I saw nothing worth boycotting Latvian dealers over but he does owe you $45.
Of the 2 options that could fit, with IMP GALBA the IMP is on the left of the portrait and Galba on the right and IMP GALBA CAESAR AVG PP appears to be on an aureus and one other denarius. http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1(2).gal.122 http://numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1(2).gal.121
Thanks Doug. Funny you'd say that. I've never bought from someone in Latvia, making me hesitant. But like you said, he appears on the up and up. I just messaged him asking to cancel the order. Fortunately he hasn't shipped.
