It has been a while since I have added any coins to my Galba denarii collection. When I saw this I was struck by the portrait. I love the variation of portraits within the denarii of Galba. The ones from Spain (presumedly Tarraco) are some of the strangest imperial portraits I have ever seen. This one is no exception. I also like the full legends. This is one of the longest legends I have seen for Galba-particularly for Spain. Many of the Spanish denarii have IMP GALBA or IMPERATOR GALBA for the obverse legend. I have also wanted a denarius for some time with the SPQR and wreath reverse. However the ones I have seen until now have been from the Rome mint (RIC 167). I really want one from a Spanish mint and one finally appeared. I am very happy to have won this coin. Please post your coins of Galba. Galba, 68-69 Denarius Tarraco (?) April to late 68, AR 19mm., 3.33g. Obv: SER GALBA IMP CAESAR AVG PM TR P; Laureate head r. Rev. SPQR / OB / C-S within oak wreath. C 288. RIC 62.From the M.J. Collection. Ex: Naville Numismatics Live auction 49 Lot 439 May 12, 2019.
Still don't have any Galba coins to share. Nice win though, congratulations! Wonder what the MJ collection is? By any chance Michael Jackson? (Just kidding)
No idea what the M J collection is. I will contact Mattias at Naville and ask. Hopefully I can get some more information on this collection.
Too often a new provenance appears that is hard to track down. Remember what I told you about the 'Sierra Collection'? Hopefully Naville will be able to shed some light on it for you.
Very nice win with a super strange portrait! Well done. I also won something at Naville this morning with a provenance that took me a little while to figure out. It just had a reference to a CNG sale and when I looked at the catalog I couldn't find the coin in its RR section. I finally tracked it down with a little help from a friend. In my case it was part of the "AK Collection", a big collection sold as several large group lots and the lot pictures and descriptions were printed in a separate catalog and not in the main catalog. Y'all will have to wait a bit to see what it is.
Initials and pseudonyms are typically used to protect a seller's identity. I'd be very surprised if Naville provides more information than "a private English collector" or something similar. I find the initials game to be frustrating. Has anyone ever found out who "A.K." is?
That particular style originates from Spain and truly is a weird one. I've aways thought they had a vague Celtic look to them. Here is my Galba Sestertius. I need to get a better one but its not high on my list:
Congrats! I also won 2 coins from the MJ collection. It would be nice for auction houses to provide some info about the collection. E.g., I do not know who BCD is, but I am aware of his interests and pursuits.
Beautiful coins Orfew - esp. the denarius of Vespasian with victory holding caduceus . I have this denarius as well minted during the civil war - I believe issued by Vitellius to bribe the Praetorians .
The coin arrived today and I am thrilled to say the least. The hairline on the obverse is not on the coin! In fact I think an actual hair was on the coin when the photo was taken. I see no evidence of it at all. The coin also looks much nicer in hand than in the auction photo. Here is my photo. What an amazing portrait!
