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Sestertius - Galba S P Q R O B CIV SER
| Issuer | Roman Imperial Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 68-69 |
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| Currency | Denarius, Reform of Augustus (27 BC – AD 215) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a four-line Latin inscription — S·P·Q·R / OB / CIVS·SER — set within a richly detailed wreath of oak leaves (corona civica), tied at the base with a ribbon and open at the top. The wreath encloses the entire legend field, referencing the honorific civic crown traditionally awarded for saving the lives of Roman citizens. The composition is centered and unadorned beyond the wreath, lending the design a deliberate, monumental gravitas. No exergual line or additional devices are present. |
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| Reverse lettering | S P Q R OB CIV SER (Translation: Senatus Populusque Romanus Ob Cives Servatos — The Senate and the Roman People, on account of citizens saved.) |
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| Additional information |
Galba's reign lasted just seven months, from June 68 to January 69 AD, making his coinage among the scarcest of any emperor who survived long enough to issue a substantive series. He came to power after Nero's suicide triggered a cascade of provincial revolts, and his fiscal conservatism — he famously refused to pay the donative promised to the Praetorian Guard on his behalf — proved fatal. The Guard murdered him in the Forum on January 15, 69 AD, the opening act of the Year of the Four Emperors.
RIC I #268 was struck at Rome. The abbreviated reign compressed production windows severely, and orichalcum sestertii from this issue are genuinely uncommon in any grade.