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Denarius OB CIVIS SERVATOS
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 68-69 |
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| Currency | Denarius, Reform of Augustus (27 BC – AD 215) |
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| Obverse description | Diademed bust of Bonus Eventus facing right, the hair dressed and drawn back in a queue at the nape of the neck, rendered in fine relief characteristic of late Julio-Claudian and early Flavian die-cutting. The portrait is set within an irregularly shaped flan typical of hammered silver coinage of the Civil Wars period. The partial legend BON EVENT arcs around the upper field, identifying the personification of Good Fortune or Favorable Outcome. |
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| Reverse description | A civic oak wreath (corona civica), the traditional Roman honor awarded for saving the lives of fellow citizens, depicted fully encircling the central field with detailed individual leaves and berries rendered in relief. The wreath occupies the majority of the reverse field, leaving a small central void. The legend OB CIVIS SERVATOS is distributed around the periphery of the flan, with OB CIVIS visible in the upper field and SERVATOS along the lower, referencing the honorific granted to Augustus and subsequently used as a legitimizing device by claimants during the Year of the Four Emperors. |
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Struck under Galba in the chaos following Nero's suicide in June 68 AD, this denarius belongs to one of the most compressed and violent successions in Roman history — four emperors in under two years. Galba's mint output during his seven-month reign was substantial but his hold on power was not; he was murdered in the Roman Forum in January 69 AD by Praetorian guardsmen switching allegiance to Otho.
The ob civis servatos type invoked the corona civica, Rome's honor for saving citizen lives — a calculated piece of propaganda from a man who had just led a provincial revolt against a sitting emperor.