Galba's seven-month reign — June 68 to January 69 AD — produced a frantic and inconsistent coinage as the new emperor scrambled to establish legitimacy after Nero's suicide. The AEQVITAS type was deliberate propaganda, invoking fairness and equity at precisely the moment Galba was alienating the Rhine legions by refusing to pay the donative he had promised. That decision cost him his life. Otho's coup on January 15, 69 AD ended the reign before the mint at Rome could achieve anything approaching production consistency, which accounts for the die-link complexity cataloguers still argue over in this series.
Galba's seven-month reign — June 68 to January 69 AD — produced a frantic and inconsistent coinage as the new emperor scrambled to establish legitimacy after Nero's suicide. The AEQVITAS type was deliberate propaganda, invoking fairness and equity at precisely the moment Galba was alienating the Rhine legions by refusing to pay the donative he had promised. That decision cost him his life. Otho's coup on January 15, 69 AD ended the reign before the mint at Rome could achieve anything approaching production consistency, which accounts for the die-link complexity cataloguers still argue over in this series.