Galba, 68 – 69 Aureus, Gaul April to late Autumn 68, AV 18.5mm, 6.42 g. IMP SER GALBA – CAESAR AVG Laureate and draped bust right. Rev. VICTORIA – P R Draped Victory standing facing on globe, head l., holding wreath and palm branch. C 327. BMC 46. RIC 216. CBN 96. Calicó 514.

Very rare. About very fine.

Ex NAC 59, April 2011, 1884.

Almost more remarkable than Galba’s legacy as an emperor for seven months in 68 and 69 is the life he enjoyed before he claimed the purple. He was among the wealthiest men in the empire, and is said not to have travelled anywhere, not even on a casual afternoon ride, with less than ten thousand gold pieces. Being so wealthy and belonging to a noble family, the Suplicii, it is not surprising that he held many important posts in Rome and in the provinces, and was a personal acquaintance of the Julio-Claudians. Galba began his association with the Julio-Claudians with a pinch on the cheek from Augustus when he was a child, and thereafter he was a personal acquaintance of the emperors from Tiberius to Nero, whom he overthrew in 68. Agrippina Junior was apparently infatuated with him, and he enjoyed especially close friendships with Claudius and Livia. Suetonius tells us Livia made Galba her principal heir, leaving him 500,000 aurei, but that Tiberius nullified her bequest on a technicality, reducing the amount to only 5,000.