British Iron Age Coins, Ancient Coins, and Antiquities

Roman Imperial Coinage, Galba, Denarius, Rome, 68-9, laureate head right, rev. Victory standing left on globe, holding wreath, 2.84g (RIC 175; RSC 325). Fine, reverse about so, scarce £90-£120

The figure of Victory on the reverse imitates a statue located outside one of Rome’s main senate houses. Octavian transferred the monument from Tarentum to the forecourt of the Julia Curia in 29 BC as part of his wider attempts to ingratiate himself with the Senate. This image, which appeared frequently on the coinage of Augustus, became a shorthand for promoting senatorial power and influence in the early Principate.