Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Aureus - Galba VIRTVS, Virtus
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 68-69 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The personification of Virtus, goddess of military virtue and valor, depicted standing to the left, clad in a short military tunic and cuirass. In her extended right hand she holds a small Victory standing on a globe, and in her left hand she carries a parazonium (a short ceremonial sword). The reverse field is plain, with the legend VIRTVS inscribed in the field, emphasizing the martial virtues Galba sought to project at the outset of his reign. A beaded border frames the design. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (68-69) |
| Additional information |
Galba's reign lasted seven months. The aureus coinage he produced was substantial in volume — he melted down Nero's famously debased gold to restrike at a higher fineness — but the political chaos of 69 AD, the Year of the Four Emperors, meant much of it was rapidly hoarded or melted again by successive regimes. RIC I 63 is among the issues struck at Rome after Galba arrived from Spain in late 68, distinguishing it from his earlier Spanish mint production at Tarraco.