Two Rare Caesarean Bronzes of Gordian III

244, Lot: 592. Estimate $100. Sold for $185. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ROMAN. Provincial. Lot of Two (2) Æ of Gordian III from Cappadocia, Caesarea. 1Æ (24mm, 8.92 g, 12h). Dated RY 3 (AD 239/40). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / M - H/T[PO] KAI/CA ЄNTI/XI B N Є Γ in four lines; Mt. Argaeus between first two letters; all within wreath. Bland, Last -; Sydenham, Caesarea -. 2Æ (27mm, 9.56 g, 12h). Dated RY 4 (AD 240/1). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Draped and veiled bust of Tyche right, wearing a headdress in the form of Mt. Argaeus. Bland, Last 73 (same dies as illustration); Sydenham, Caesarea -. Both Fine condition and with an uncertain countermark on the obverse (probably Helios). The first coin possibly unrecorded, only eight of the second known to Bland at the time of publication (1991).

From the J.S. Wagner Collection.

The reverse legend on the first coin alludes to the construction of fortified walls around Caesarea and the games instituted in honor of the emperor, who granted the city its second neocorate.