169, Lot: 222. Estimate $150. Sold for $205. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Otho. AD 69. AR Denarius (19mm, 2.98 g). Rome mint. Bare head right / Securitas standing left, holding wreath and scepter. RIC I 10; RSC 15. Fine, cleaning scratches.

From the J. S. Wagner Collection.

Marcus Salvius Otho was a minor functionary in the court of Nero, known more for his enthusiastic participation in the emperor’s revels than for any real competency. His one mistake was in introducing his beautiful wife Poppaea Sabina to his master. Very soon, Otho got the governorship of the remote province of Lusitania, and Nero got Poppaea (see lot XXX). With Nero’s downfall, Otho aligned himself with his fellow governor Galba, fully expecting to be named the elderly emperor’s successor. When Galba designated Piso as his successor, the disappointed Otho joined the conspiracy that lead to Galba’s assassination. Otho himself would perish three months later, a suicide as the armies of Vitellius approached Rome.