Bronze as of Galba (AD 68–69), struck at the Rome mint, belongs to a relatively scarce variety featuring a bare head on the obverse, encountered less frequently than issues with a draped bust. This type was produced after Galba’s arrival in Rome and his assumption of effective power following the fall of Nero.
The obverse shows a laureate head of the emperor facing right with the legend IMP SER GALBA CAES AVG P M TR P, reflecting his official titulature as imperator and augustus. The simplified portrait type, limited to the head alone, is characteristic of certain early emissions of his reign and serves as a typological feature distinguishing this issue.
The reverse depicts Libertas standing left, holding a pileus (cap of liberty) and a scepter, with the legend LIBERTAS PVBLICA and S-C in the fields, indicating a senatorial issue. This representation directly refers to the restoration of public liberty following the end of Nero’s rule. In Roman iconography, the pileus symbolized manumission and freedom, and its presence in the hand of Libertas clearly evokes Republican traditions and the renewal of the political order.
This type forms part of Galba’s broader propaganda program, which emphasized the restoration of liberty and traditional values after the oppressive final years of Nero’s reign, including the reprisals following the Pisonian conspiracy of AD 65. Issues bearing the legend LIBERTAS PVBLICA are among the most recognizable expressions of this short-lived but intense political messaging, abruptly concluded with Galba’s assassination on January 15, AD 69.
Roman Imperial
Galba (68-69), As 68-69, Rome mint
Obverse: laureate head emperor right
IMP SER GALBA CAES AVG P M TR P
Reverse: Libertas standing left, holding pileus and sceptre, in fields SC
LIBERTAS PVBLICA
Diameter 26 mm, weight 8.86 g
