Galba, 68-69, Tetradrachm

Galba, Tetradrachm, AR, reign AD 68–69; Alexandria, Year 1 (9 June–28 August AD 68). 12.01 g; 24 mm. Laureate head of Galba right; legend ΛΟΥΚ ΛΙΒ ΣΟΥΛΠ ΓΑΛΒΑ ΚΑΙΣ ΣΕΒ ΑΥ(Τ), with regnal year mark L A. Reverse legend ΚΡΑΤΗΣΙΣ with the personification Kratesis standing. Struck at Alexandria with Greek legends and regnal dating. RPC I 5329.

Issued immediately after Nero’s death, this Alexandrian tetradrachm documents Egypt’s swift recognition of Galba during Year 1, fixed by the L A regnal mark to 9 June–28 August AD 68. Roman Egypt operated a closed currency system in which Greek‑legend tetradrachms served as the principal silver denomination and carried regnal dates rather than Roman consular formulas. The reverse legend Kratesis (“dominion/power”) is a contemporary statement of the new regime’s authority at a moment when control of Egypt—and its grain—was strategically important to the stability of the Roman state.