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Otho. Silver Denarius (2.99 g), AD 69. Rome. [IMP OTHO] CAESAR AVG TR P, bare head of Otho
right. Rev. PONT MAX, Ceres standing facing, head left, holding grain ears and cornucopiae. (cf.
RIC p. 261, note; BN 25; BMC 9; RSC 11). Fine portrait. Well struck with toning over residual luster.
Extremely fine.
$ 3,400
Otho, of Etrurian stock, had been one of the most reckless and miscreant nobles in Nero’s court. In AD 58, Otho’s wife, the
beautiful Poppaea Sabina, began a secret affair with the emperor and soon divorced Otho. At her instence, Nero sent Otho far away,
making him governor of the remote province of Lusitania. He remained there as governor for the next ten years, and Suetonius
records his rule there as one of well-administered moderation.
In AD 68, Galba, the governor of the neighboring province of Hispania Tarraconensis, revolted against Nero, and Otho joined him
in his march on Rome. Otho perhaps thought that by his support he would be named as successor by the aged and childless Galba
if Galba were successful in overthrowing Nero, but in this he was to be disappointed. Once Galba had become emperor, he formerly
adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his heir. With his hopes of peaceful succession now dashed, Otho boldly approached
the Praetorian camp and bribed a few guardsmen, who were already aggrieved by Galba’s refusal to pay the promised money for
their support in his overthrow of Nero. They quickly found the emperor, who was making his way to the camp because of rumors
of treachery, and brutally murdered him and Piso. They then declared for Otho, the Senate affirming the decision shortly afterward.
Despite his reckless youth, Otho’s short reign showed signs of equitable administration, emulating his former career in Lusitania.
However, he never enjoyed the opportunity of fully establishing this benevolent rule for as soon as he was in power he faced the
formidable revolt of Vitellius and the Rhine legions. While at first he showed remarkable energy in mustering an opposition to the
revolt, after his forces were soundly defeated at the Battle of Bedriacum he committed suicide, preferring to spare his soldiers and
the empire further bloodshed.
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Vitellius. Silver Denarius (3.13 g), AD 69. Rome. A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP AVG TR P, laureate head
of Vitellius right. Rev. IVPPITER VICTOR, Jupiter seated left, holding Victory and scepter. (RIC 75; BMC
8; RSC 44). Excellent portrait, attractive old cabinet tone. Nearly extremely fine.
$ 1,600
Vitellius was made Governor of Lower Germany by Galba. When the legions became disaffected from Galba’s austere and
strict rule, they renounced their allegiance to him and hailed Vitellius as emperor. Vitellius at first refused the imperial title, but
he did take the name Germanicus and pledged to lead the revolt. Shortly thereafter the provinces of Britain, Gaul and Spain
defected to him. Meanwhile in Rome Galba had been murdered and Otho installed as the new emperor by the Praetorian Guard.
Otho offered to share the emperorship with Vitellius, but the latter, whose forces were already marching on Rome, refused. A
decisive engagement, the Battle of Bedriacum, was fought between the two sides in the vicinity between Cremona and Verona, and
Vitellius’s forces were victorious. Despite losing at Bedriacum, Otho perhaps could still have won the war - he had the support of
the formidable legions of Dalmatia, Moesia and Pannonia, as well as both the Praetorian Guard and the Roman fleet - but instead
chose to avoid civil war by committing suicide.
Once in Rome the Senate decreed Vitellius the usual imperial honors. The historians Suetonius, Tacitus and Dio Cassius do not
record many positives about Vitellius’s short reign, but he did implement some worthwhile and lasting changes (for instance, he
accepted equites into the offices of imperial administration whereas before they had been open only to freedmen). Overall, though,
his reign was irresolute, and Vitellius himself is described as lazy and self-indulgent.