Gordian III
Marcus Antonius Gordianus
My name is Michael Mihalka and thanks for coming to my Gordian III page. Except where otherwise noted, all the coins on this site are in my collection. If you have a coin that is not here and would like to sell or trade please contact me at mihalkam_1999@yahoo.com. I have duplicates of about half the coins here.
This site is always under construction and new coins (especially provincials) are continually being added.
Thanks again for visiting!
Image is from the Louvre
HOMEPAGE: home
Wildwinds site for Gordian III: wildwinds
Virtual catalog of Roman Coins: gordianiii
Little is known of the reign of Gordian III and coins provide an important source of information:
History in coins
The main Gordian III collection
The imperial coins are organized according to Cohen, that is alphabetic according to the reverse. It is the system used by the main common references --David Sear, Roman Coins and their Values and Roman Silver Coins. This method does not group coins together with similar historical siginificance. Roman Imperial Coinage, the standard reference, groups coins of similar metal minted at the same time.
The original intention of this collection was to collect every coin listed for Gordian III in Sear 4th edition. As of March 2002, I have collected all of the antoniniani and denarii listed in Sear. All of the antoniniani designated as common in RIC can be seen here. I have also collected the majority of sestertii, ases, and provincials listed in Sear. Several dupondii can be seen as well (although none from Sear).
Two imperial mints operated during Gordian III's reign -- Rome and Antioch. Although most of the coins minted at Antioch have a distinctive style, others do not. The only clear distinquishing feature of Antioch minted coins seems to be the undraped cuirassed bust that appears on some of the antoniniani. There are also a few draped coins with distinctive reverses that RIC attributes only to Antioch. Look in the future for a study of the obverse types of Gordian antoniniani.
Hoards
Much of the knowledge about the Gordian coinage has come from hoards, particularly the great Dorchester hoard. A discussion of hoards that contained Gordian coins can be found here.
Obverse legends
IMPCAESMANTGORDIANVSAVG
July 238 - February 240
IMPCAESGORDIANVSPIVSAVG
March-May 240
IMPGORDIANVSPIVSFELSAVG
May 240 - 244
In addition certain Ae's have the following obverse legend:
IMPGORDIANVSPIVSFELIXAVG
Aureus
See image above. 4.96g. Obv: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev: Providentia stg. l. holding globe and transverse scepter. RIC 23. aVF. Lot 873 from the renowned Garrett Collection sold in 1984 by Bank Leu and NFA on behalf of Johns Hopkins University. The family of T. Harrison Garrett managed the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. For more information on the collection see:
Garrett Collection
Quinarius
There are both AU and AR quinarii although I don't currently own any. These coins occasionally appear in auctions.
Antoninianus
Antoninianus to RSC 100
Antoninianus to RSC 200
Antoninianus to RSC 300
Antoninianus to RSC 404
The Anoniniani are also organized by RIC number:
First and second issues, RIC 1-33
Third issue, RIC 34-82
Fourth issue, RIC 83-139A
Fifth issue, RIC 140-167A
Antioch RIC 168-219
Denarius
Sestertius
Sestertius to S2488
Sestertius to S2500
Sestertius from S2500
The Sestertii are also now organized according to RIC number:
First and second issues, RIC 254-266
Third issue, RIC 267-296
Fourth issue, RIC 297-327
Fifth and Final issue, RIC 328-339A
As
As to MARSPROPVGNATSC
As from PAXAETERNASC
Dupondius
Provincial
Around 385 coins from over 90 cities can be seen here. The Alexandrian and Pisidia Antiochia collections are worth a special visit. Although the quality is not high the coins from Tarsos are also worth a look.
Oddities and brockage
