Choice Otho Aureus
Otho. AD 69. AV Aureus (19mm, 7.16 g, 6h). Rome mint. IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, bare head right / SECVR I TAS PR, Securitas standing facing, head left, holding wreath and scepter. RIC I 7; Calicó 531 (this coin illustrated); Hunter 4; BMCRE 13-5; Cohen 16. EF, lustrous. Very rare.
Ex Michael F. Price Collection (Stack’s, 3 December 1996), lot 142.
The security of the Roman people Securitas P(opuli) R(omani) was an idea which Otho utilized in order to convey the much needed image of stability to the populace in the bloody aftermath of the downfall of the Julio-Claudian line and ensuing civil war.
