Dupondius - Galba S P Q R O B CIV SER

Galba's reign lasted just seven months, but his brief tenure produced a distinctive output of rhetoric-heavy coinage minted in Spain and later Rome. The legend S P Q R OB C S — "the Senate and People of Rome, on account of the citizenship preserved" — references Galba's self-presentation as a liberator from Neronian tyranny rather than a usurper. It was a calculated message. He needed legitimacy fast, and bronze coinage circulating in everyday hands was the quickest vehicle for it.

He was murdered by the Praetorian Guard on January 15, 69 AD, the opening act of the Year of the Four Emperors.