---
title: Bronze sestertius of Gaius (Caligula), reverse S P Q R P P OB CIVES SERVATOS in an oak wreath
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/sestertius-caligula-ob-cives-servatos-0037/
description: 'A Roman bronze sestertius: the obverse shows the emperor''s laureate head with his name and titles, the reverse a four-line legend inside an oak wreath.'
section: Collection
---

[Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/)

[![Bronze sestertius of Gaius (Caligula), reverse S P Q R P P OB CIVES SERVATOS in an oak wreath](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/sestertius-caligula-ob-cives-servatos-0037.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/sestertius-caligula-ob-cives-servatos-0037.jpg)

# Bronze sestertius of Gaius (Caligula), reverse S P Q R P P OB CIVES SERVATOS in an oak wreath

A Roman bronze sestertius: the obverse shows the emperor's laureate head with his name and titles, the reverse a four-line legend inside an oak wreath. The legend has the Senate and People of Rome, and the title Father of the Fatherland, credit the ruler with saving the citizens; the wreath borrows the civic crown that the Senate had given Augustus, and the SPQR formula puts the Senate's name on a message the ruler's mint issued.

- **Date:** 0037
- **Period:** [Pre-1914](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#era=pre-1914)
- **Made by:** Roman imperial mint at Rome, under Emperor Gaius (Caligula) and the Senate
- **Region:** [Western and Central Europe](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#region=western-central-europe)
- **Country:** [Roman Empire](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#country=roman-empire)
- **Medium:** [Banknotes and coins](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#medium=banknote-coin)
- **Issuer type:** [State](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#actor=state)
- **Regime:** [Roman Principate](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#regime=roman-principate)
- **Leader:** [Gaius Caligula](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#leader=gaius-caligula)
- **Audience:** [Domestic public](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#audience=domestic-public)
- **Purpose:** [Persuade or win support](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#purpose=persuade-support)
- **Theme:** [Elections and party politics](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/#theme=elections-party-politics)
- **Techniques:** [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/) [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)
- **Source:** Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- **Source:** [The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access)](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/246889), retrieved September 29, 2026
- **Rights:** Public domain (The Met Open Access, CC0; isPublicDomain true in the Met API; object about 2,000 years old) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Joseph H. Durkee, 1899 (99.35.448), Open Access

## Text on the object

Original (Latin) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
Obverse (clockwise from lower left): C·CAESAR·AVG·GERMANICVS·PON·M·TR·POT

Reverse (in wreath): S·P·Q·R
P·P
OB·CIVES
SERVATOS
```

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

```
Obverse: Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power.

Reverse: The Senate and People of Rome, to the Father of the Fatherland, for saving the citizens.
```

The two P letters on the reverse are stylised and read P P (Pater Patriae). Word-dots are as struck. The translation expands standard abbreviations.

[Gold coin of Kanishka: King of Kings legend, king at the altar, deity Oesho →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gold-dinar-kanishka-king-of-kings-0130/)

## Using the same techniques

- [Seljuq gold dinar of Sanjar, dated 493 AH, with the Abbasid caliph named on one face](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/seljuq-gold-dinar-sanjar-caliph-name-1099/) (1099 · Testimonial)
- [Bande Mataram (Paris), memorial page to Madan Lal Dhingra, 17 August 1909](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bande-mataram-paris-dhingra-memorial-1909/) (Aug 17, 1909 · Testimonial, Transfer)
- [Ein Volk in Waffen gegen eine Welt in Waffen (A People in Arms against a World in Arms), Red Cross welfare postcard](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/ein-volk-in-waffen-haeseler-red-cross-postcard-1914/) (Sep 11, 1914 · Testimonial, Transfer)
- [Australia's imperishable record. Australians! The empire needs you (Farmer's, Sydney)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/australias-imperishable-record-1915/) (1915 · Testimonial, Glittering generalities)
- [Ireland & Poland (recruiting appeal quoting the Rev. William P. Burke)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/ireland-and-poland-1915/) (1915 · Fear appeal, Testimonial)
- [Mr. John Dillon, M.P., on recruiting in Ireland. Join an Irish regiment to-day](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/john-dillon-on-recruiting-in-ireland-1915/) (1915 · Testimonial, Semantic hijacking)
- [La France / L'Allemagne: même dans le timbre-poste (France / Germany: even in the postage stamp)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/la-france-l-allemagne-timbre-poste-1915/) (1915 · Testimonial, Name-calling)
- [Wer Kriegsanleihe zeichnet, macht mir die schönste Geburtstagsgabe! (Whoever Subscribes to the War Loan Gives Me the Finest Birthday Present!)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/hindenburg-geburtstagsgabe-1917/) (1917 · Testimonial)