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!
Denarius S P Q R, Victory
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 68-69 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Denarius, Reform of Augustus (27 BC – AD 215) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | SALVS GENERIS HVMANI (Translation: Salus Generis Humani. Salvation of the human race.) |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents the abbreviated legend S·P·Q·R in bold, well-spaced Latin capitals at the center of the field, enclosed within a prominent civic oak-wreath (corona civica) tied at the base. A small pellet or bead appears at the top of the wreath above the legend. The oak-wreath, rendered with carefully detailed leaves and acorns, was a potent symbol of Roman civic virtue and imperial authority. The design is deliberately austere, emphasizing the senatorial and popular legitimacy of the issuing authority during the tumultuous Year of the Four Emperors. |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
This denarius falls within the catastrophic Year of the Four Emperors, when Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian each seized or contested imperial power in rapid succession. The SPQR obverse legend was a deliberate archaism — a bid for senatorial legitimacy at a moment when the throne had become, nakedly, a military prize. Galba in particular leaned hard on Republican imagery to distinguish himself from Nero's personal excess.
RIC I 75 is attributed to Galba's Rome mint, struck in the opening months of his reign before his murder in January 69 AD.