Galba, 68 – 69. Aureus 68-69, AV 20 mm, 7.33 g. IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG Laureate and draped bust r. Rev. VIR – TVS Virtus nude, standing, facing, holding parazonium in r. hand and spear in l. C 345. BMC p. 316 and pl. 52, 25 (this coin illustrated). RIC 222. Calicó 518 (this coin). Biaggi 268 (this coin). Extremely rare and probably the finest specimen known of this issue and among the finest aurei of Galba in private hands. A bold portrait struck on an exceptionally large flan and an interesting reverse representation. Virtually as struck and almost FdcGraded Ch AU*, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, NGC photo certificate number 6711261-002 Ex Bourgey 16-18 December 1913, Vidal Quadras (1818-1894), 109; Glendining 1951, Ryan, 1670; Rauch 102, 2016, 46 and NGSA 20, 2024, 1036 sales. Servius Sulpicius Galba had served in various capacities under Caligula and Claudius and was virtually retired for most of Nero's reign until he received command of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis in AD 59 or 60. When Nero committed suicide on 9 June AD 68, Galba assumed the imperial title and marched on Rome in October. There, he established himself as the first emperor of the bloody Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69) despite his advanced age. Unfortunately, he lacked wide popularity with the army, and on 1 January 69, the German legions refused to swear their loyalty to him and instead chose Aulus Vitellius as a rival emperor. The reverse of this gold aureus features Virtus, the Roman personification of valor, in an effort to project an illusory air of legitimacy. The use of Virtus seems to have been intended to imply that, despite his seventy years, Galba was still vigorous and capable of ruling the empire. It also may have been meant to suggest the existence of broader military backing than he actually had, or to vainly appeal to the army that chose Vitellius over him. Galba’s response to the crisis was rather less valorous than his coinage would seem to indicate. He immediately panicked and adopted the young and ambitious senator Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his heir in an attempt to bolster his faltering image of legitimacy in Rome. Unfortunately, this only made matters worse, as it offended many other ambitious and wealthy men in the city. Most notable among these was M. Salvius Otho, who bribed the Praetorian Guard to provide the military backing for his own bid for the imperial purple. This coup d’etat further unnerved Galba, who took to the streets in a hopeless attempt to stir up popular support for himself. Little support materialized, and both Galba and Piso were killed in the Forum by the Praetorian Guard, leaving Otho as the new emperor in Rome. In an ironic twist, Galba was later avenged when a list of 100 men claiming to have struck his death blow fell into the hands of Vitellius. They had all made this claim to ingratiate themselves with Otho, but after he was overthrown, Vitellius ordered their execution. Missing note Please find here the video of the coin