Farnese Hercules Reverse Type
Gordian III. AD 238-244. AR Denarius (21mm, 3.15 g, 1h). Rome mint, 4th officina. 8th emission, AD 240. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / The Farnese Hercules, naked and standing right, resting right hand on hip and left hand on club set on rock; beside club, a lion-skin. RIC IV 116; RSC 403. Near EF.
The model for this reverse type is the famed marble Farnese Hercules statue that was discovered in the excavations of the Baths of Caracalla in 1546. The statue depicts Hercules at rest after completing his Labors: he is shown standing with his club, draped in the skin of the Nemean Lion, set upright on a rock, propped under his left arm supporting the weight of his muscular frame, his head slightly nodding forward in a weary attitude, and he holds the apples of the Hesperides behind his back in his right hand. The sculpture was apparently well-liked by the Romans, and copies have been found in Roman palaces and gymnasiums
