My coins of Galba

dougsmit · Jul 28, 2018

I don't think the coins are so rare unless you must have mint state. Those certainly are and many of these were less than that when struck. Mine was $15 but that was 30 years ago.
/ Roma (POMH)

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Multatuli · Jul 28, 2018

Great coins, as always.
Here are my only two denarii, already posted here in CT before:

RIC I 167

This one should be more a Civil War emission than Galba itself, IMHO.
Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.27 g, 6h). Uncertain mint in Gaul (Vienna?). Struck circa April to late autumn AD 68. SER [GALBA IMP], Galba, in military attire, galloping left, extending right hand / HISPANIA, bareheaded and draped bust of Hispania right; two javelins behind, round shield below, two stalks of grain before. RIC I 86 var. (obv. type left & rev. legend counterclockwise); RSC 76a var. (same). Good Fine, toned, light marks and scratches beneath the toning, some porosity. Very rare.

Orfew · Jul 28, 2018

Multatuli said: ↑

Great coins, as always.
Here are my only two denarii, already posted here in CT before:
View attachment 804793 View attachment 804794
RIC I 167
View attachment 804795
This one should be more a Civil War emission than Galba itself, IMHO.
Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.27 g, 6h). Uncertain mint in Gaul (Vienna?). Struck circa April to late autumn AD 68. SER [GALBA IMP], Galba, in military attire, galloping left, extending right hand / HISPANIA, bareheaded and draped bust of Hispania right; two javelins behind, round shield below, two stalks of grain before. RIC I 86 var. (obv. type left & rev. legend counterclockwise); RSC 76a var. (same). Good Fine, toned, light marks and scratches beneath the toning, some porosity. Very rare.
Click to expand...

I love the civil war denarius. What an interesting piece of history. There were many interesting coins minted under Galba.

Orfew · Aug 31, 2018

My coin of Galba finally arrived after 1 month of waiting.

Eduard · Aug 31, 2018

Andrew, you must be relieved your Galba finally arrived! One month.....but it can happen. (I once waited 6-7 weeks for some coins to arrive from Spain).

The coin looks quite attractive with a distinctive portrait.

This denarius issued during the Civil War 68-69 was actually struck by Galba as Governor of Hispania:

Civil War. AD 68-69. AR Denarius. Group I. Spanish mint. Young female head (Bonus Eventus) right, fillet around forehead / Victory standing right, holding eagle-tipped scepter and Victory. RIC I 9; AM 52; ACIP 4070 (Terraco); RSC 396. V

Issued by Galba as governor of Spain, in the disordered period before the death of Nero and the proclamation of Galba as emperor.

Orfew · Aug 31, 2018

Yes, I am glad it finally appeared. Wonderful coin @Eduard A Bon Eventus type is definitely on my radar. I am actively looking for one.

Jackisback230465 · Mar 9, 2019

i found this denarii 2 weeks ago with metall detector, could also be Galba civil war?

lordmarcovan · Mar 9, 2019

Jackisback230465 said: ↑

i found this denarii 2 weeks ago with metall detector, could also be Galba civil war?
Click to expand...

Great find!

Jackisback230465 · Mar 9, 2019

lordmarcovan said: ↑

Great find!
Click to expand...

PeteB · Mar 9, 2019

Galba. 68-69 AD. AR Denarius. 3.3 gm. Rome mint. Struck circa July 68 AD - January 69 AD. Obv: Laureate and draped bust right. Rev: Victory stg. left on globe, holding wreath and palm. RIC I, 217; RSC 328.

Orfew · Mar 9, 2019

I have 2 more I should have added to this thread.

Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (17.1mm, 3.03 g, 12h). Spanish mint (Tarraco?). Struck circa April-late AD 68. Laureate head right; globe at point of bust / Libertas standing left, holding pileus with right hand, vindicta with left. RIC I 23; RSC 118. Good Fine, toned, flatly struck.
CNG 427, Lot: 433.
From the Collection of a Texas Wine Doctor.

Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.15 g, 6h). Uncertain mint in Gaul (Narbo?). Struck circa April-late autumn AD 68.
Obv: Laureate head right IMPERATOR SER GALBA
Rev: Concordia standing left, holding branch and cornucopia. CONCORDIA PROVINCIARUM RIC I 105; RSC 34.
Fine, toned, porous.
EX: AUKTIONEN MEISTER & SONNTAG, AUCTION 4, LOT 74 11/10/2006
Ex Meister & Sonntag Quick Auction 2007 (25 March 2007), lot 214
EX:.CNG E-auction Lot 353 September 5, 2018

Jackisback230465 · Mar 10, 2019

For sure Galba civil war.
Very rare.

62, AR Denarius (17mm, 2.69 g). Mint in Gaul. ROMA RESTITVTA Helmeted bust of Roma right / IVPPITER LIBERATOR Jupiter seated left, holding thunderbolt

Carl Wilmont · Mar 10, 2019

Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius. Rome mint.

PMONNEY · Mar 11, 2019

Orfew said: ↑

I want to start this post by showing my current denarii of Galba and finish it with a win in today's CNG auction (yes it is another Galba). It is no secret to regular user here that I have been accumulating what I think are interesting coins of Galba. I am attracted to the unusual portraits.

From Sutherland "Supplementum Galbianum" 1984

"The difficulties of Galba's coinage have been felt by many numismatists. In revising
RIC I was no less subject to these than others before me. Since my revised
volume was published I have been able to study the casts of nearly 200 specimens
of the non-Roman aurei and denarii of Galba which were not available
to me during the process of revision. It therefore seems right to publish, as
soon as possible, the results of this regrettably later study, in order to correct
and amplify the lists in pp. 232 ff. of RIC I (revised) (cited here as RIC F).
These amendments and additions are due mainly to the immense internal variation
in Galba's non-Roman gold and silver. The legends, both obverse and
reverse, and their disposition, show constant variety, which is not seldom masked
by worn condition."

Galba, AD 68-69. Denarius, Spain (Tarraco ?), 68. AR 3.25 g.
Obv: GALBA - IMPERTOR Laureate head r., globe at point of bust.
Rev. VIRTVS Virtus, wearing short tunica, standing l., holding parazonium with her l. hand, on her outstretched r. hand Victoria with palm branch and wreath.
RIC 48a (R3) Supplementum Galbianum, Quaderni Ticinesi XII Numismatica E Antichita Classiche 1984. Cf. BMC 341, 194v.; BN III, 36, 34v.; C. 210; RIC 30var. (all with IMP on obv.).
Very rare variant. Toned. Small chips on flan. Almost very fine
Provenance: Auction UBS, Zurich 49 (2000), 365.
Ex: “The Galba Collection”
Hess Divo Auction 333, Lot 100 November 30, 2017
Hess Divo Auction 334 Lot 107 May 29, 2018

View attachment 803535

Here is a rare denarius of Galba. For a while I thought it was an unpublished variant. It did not appear in RIC 1 (1984).I have to thank Dr. Jryki Muona for supplying the correct reference for me. It appeared in a paper by Sutherland in 1984 entitled Supplementum Galbianum. In this paper several previously unpublished coins of Galba including mine were added. My coin type was given the reference number RIC 48a. Other information including corrections and further information is given in the paper. This coin does not occur in the major museum collections. There is one in the Oxford collection and this is the coin used in the paper cited above. There is one other that was auctioned in 2004 by Gorny & Mosch. I have been unable to find any further examples.

From Sutherland (1984)

"After no. 48, add no. 48a: Denarius with obv. 3 b D and rev. ) VIRTVS, type
as no. 30. R3. Oxford.

(iv) RIC I', p. 234, nos. 33-48a. Portrait obverses with legends 3a, 3b and 3c.

RIC I', no. 40 (BMC 178, rev. Roma Renasc) shares an obv. die with no. 45
(Vienna, rev. Roma Victrix) and no. 48a (Oxford, rev. Virtus)."

For me the most notable quality of this coin is not the rarity (it is R3: 6-10 examples known in the collections examined for RIC), it is the amazing portrait. I have several coins of Galba and not one of the portraits is close to any of the others. There is a remarkable variation in portraits on Galba's denarii, especially considering the short reign of the emperor.

Where was this coin minted? It has the globe at the terminus of the bust. This would seem to indicate Taracco in Spain. However, after some research I have discovered that other mints may have used the globe terminus. In other words, if there is no globe it was not minted in Taracco, if it has the globe it may be Taracco.

The reverse with Virtvs holding victory does appear on other coins of Galba. However, on the vast majority of these the legend "Vitvus" is on the left and not the right. I have seen 2 other types with "Virtvs" on the right. However, on one the bust has no globe terminus so it is not a Tarraco mint coin. On the other, the obverse legend is different and the coin is probably a product of the Carthage mint in Africa because of the distinctive portrait.

I am very happy to have acquired this coin. It is unusual, interesting, and has a great portrait as well as an interesting reverse.

Galba. 68-69 AD. Denarius, 3.50gg. (5h). Tarraco. Obv: GALBA - IM[PERATOR] Head laureate right on globe. Rx: LIB - [ERTAS] - RESTITVTA Libertas standing left, apparently emptying a cup and holding scepter. BM 198, pl. 54.3. RIC 9 (R2), pl. 24 (the BM spec.). Cf. Paris 12, pl.III (apparently no globe below bust). Cohen 133 (120 Fr.). VF.
Ex Jyrki Muona Collection.
Ex Gemini XIV April 2018 Lot 475.
Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database.

"On the Paris specimen of this coin the scepter on reverse has a thickened upper end, so Cohen thought it was a thyrsus and called the figure Ariadne. On the BM specimen the scepter has no bulge at the end, but Matting[ly] still followed Cohen in calling it a "thyrsus(?)", and suggested that the figure was a Bacchante, the type perhaps referring to "some kindness that Galba rendered to Spain in the form of removal of restrictions on the culture of vines" (Introduction, p. ccix). It seems more probable that the deity is just Libertas, as named in the legend, and that the cup she apparently empties on several dies, replacing her normal cap of liberty, is merely an engraver's whim or error."

(Description by Curtis Clay from original auction listing)

View attachment 803537

I purchased this one because I really liked the portrait. The bust is of high relief and seems to almost jump off of the coin. As you can read in the attribution, this coin was purchased from the Gemini auction held by Harlan Berk. Before that this coin was the property of a well known collector-Dr. Jyrki Muona. This is my second Galba denarius from his collection. The other one is listed later in this post.

Another interesting fact about this coin is where it was minted. This coin was minted in Spain, specifically in Tarraco. Spanish mint denarii of Galba are sought after and actively collected. I think that one of the reasons for this has to do the interesting portraits on these coins.

Of course the reverse on this coin is also interesting. Though the full legend is not on the reverse, it was supposed to read "Libertas Restitvta" or Liberty Restored. The suicide of Nero led to a civil war. As the next emperor it was in Galba's interest to present as rosy a picture of the empire as possible. The restoration of liberty would have been a popular message with the roman populace.

GALBA, A.D. 68-69. AR Denarius(3.38 gms), Rome Mint, ca. A.D. July 68-January 69.. Obv: "IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG PM" Laureate bust of Galba facing right; Rev:: Virtus standing facing, holding parazonium upwards and leaning on vertical spear.NGC Ch F, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5.RIC-236 (R3)
Provenance: From the Graywood Collection.
Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database

Image used courtesy of Stack's Bowers Galleries

View attachment 803542

This denarius is quite rare. One aspect that makes it rare is the addition of "PM" in the obverse legend. Their are other examples similar coins without the "PM" that are somewhat more available than this one.

I was attracted to 2 aspects of this denarius. First was the portrait. Portraits of Galba vary widely across his denarii, but this one is quite unusual. It does not look like the portraits on most of his denarii. The other aspect that attracted me to this coin was the use of Virtus on the reverse. According to one expert, Virtus is female, so the figure on the reverse is the nude emperor Galba himself taking on the attributes of Virtus. Apparently, nude representations of the emperor are unusual on imperial coins.

Galba AR denarius, VF, Rome mint,
( 3.512g, 19.0mm, 180o), Nov 68 - Jan 69 A.D.;
elegant style, light toning on nice surfaces, high-points flatly struck,
Obv: IMP SER GALBACAESAR AVG, laureate head right;
Rev: HISPANIA (counterclockwise starting on left), Hispania advancing left, draped, poppy and two stalks of grain in extended right hand, round shield and two transverse spears in left hand;
RIC I 193 (R2), BMCRE I 16, RSC II 83, BnF III 89, Hunter I 1 var. (no CAESAR, Aug - Oct 68), SRCV I (2000) 2103 var. (same)
Ex: the Jyrki Muona Collection; Ex: Forum Ancient Coins
Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database.

View attachment 803540
This is one of my favourite coins. I love the portrait on the obverse and the depiction of Hispania on the reverse. Galba was the first ruler in the 'year of the four emperors' in 69 CE. I love the portrait and it has an interesting reverse. It also has a very good provenance; the coin is from the collection of Dr. Jyrki Muona.

Finally, here is my new addition.
Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius
(17mm, 3.51 g, 6h).
Spanish mint (Tarraco?).
Struck circa April-late AD 68.
Obv: GALBA IMP Laureate bust right, [globe at point of bust]
Rev: VIRTVS, Virtus standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand, cradling parazonium with left arm.
RIC I 31; RSC 333a. Fine, toned
Ex: CNG 417, Lot 427 March 28, 2018 (sold for 360.00 plus fees)
Ex: CNG 425, Lot: 403. July 25, 2018

View attachment 803543

It certainly pays (literally in this case) to do one's research. I saw this in the latest CNG sale and I was interested in it. First, it has one of those interesting small head portraits.

From Sutherland (1984)

"There was, curiously,
a noticeable tendency towards much smaller and more compact portrait-
heads, seen for example in RIC I', nos. 14, 20, 23a, 28a, 29, 29a, 30, 30a,
31 (PL. I. 15) and 32."

Second, it is attributed to a Spanish mint. third it has an interesting die link.

From Sutherland (1984)
RIC F, no. 29a (B.M. (1935), rev. S P Q R on shield in wreath) shares an obv.
die with no. 31 (Oxford, rev. Virtus).

Most importantly I just liked it. When I researched the coin before the hammer fell I found out that this coin was the only example in CoinArchives. However it was listed twice. Today's auction was listed as upcoming, but the same coin was also listed in a CNG sale from March 2018. The very good news for me (and not so much for the seller) is that in March the coin hammered for almost exactly twice what I got the coin for today. All things considered; the rarity, the Virtus reverse (that is 3 I have now) the interesting portrait, and the irresistible price, made this coin a must have.

So now I will be on the lookout for Galba denarii minted in Narbo or otherwise in Gaul, and well as those minted in Carthage.

Please post your coins of Galba.
Click to expand...

Here are some of my GAlba coins, two denarii and one bronze:

Orfew · Mar 11, 2019

PMONNEY said: ↑

Here are some of my GAlba coins, two denarii and one bronze:
Click to expand...

I like the left facing variety very much.

Archeocultura · Mar 11, 2019

Here's a slightly rarer denomination: a quinarius. RIC 132

Frans

Finn235 · Mar 11, 2019

Nice coins all!

I've only ever owned three coins of Galba, one of which is long gone. This is the only other one I have imaged:

Not the greatest condition, but I love the portrait!

The other one (lost in the depths of my Photobucket) is an Alexandrian drachm, curiously dated "Year 2" which I assume to mean the first two weeks of January 69.

Orfew · Mar 11, 2019

Finn235 said: ↑

Nice coins all!

I've only ever owned three coins of Galba, one of which is long gone. This is the only other one I have imaged:
View attachment 904803
Not the greatest condition, but I love the portrait!

The other one (lost in the depths of my Photobucket) is an Alexandrian drachm, curiously dated "Year 2" which I assume to mean the first two weeks of January 69.
Click to expand...

Not only do I love the portrait, as you can tell from my earlier posts in this thread, I really like the reverse as well. Great coin @Finn235

Julius Germanicus · Mar 11, 2019

No thread can be complete without a full size bronze

SER GALBA IMP CAESAR AVG TR P - laureate and draped bust of Galba right /
LIBERTAS PVBLICA S C - Libertas standing left, holding pileus in extended right hand and vertical sceptre at her side in left.
Sestertius, Rome October 68 aD.
25,33 gr / 37,06 mm
RIC 388; BMCRE 69-70; CBN 194; Cohen 112; Kraay obv. die A148, rev. die unlisted.

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My coins of Galba

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My coins of Galba

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