PUZZLED ABOUT THIS ROMAN? COIN WITH A HEAD ON BOTH SIDES

For all the ancient coin experts,
I came across this Roman? coin, with the face of an emperor that looks like Gordian and the reverse another head with a crown.
This is the first time that I've seen one like this.
Any thoughts, comments ideas?

Many thanks!

Monetarium

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I don't know much about those kinds of things, but could it be Roman provincial w/ emperor's head one side, and a local goddess' head on the other?

 

You'll have better luck getting the attention of the pros if you post it in the ancients section, they don't go anywhere else.

 

Yep...it does seem like a job for the Ancients!!! LOL I sound like Percy and the Sea Serpeant.

 

Reverse is local godess Tyche.

 

My quick guess is Elagabalus with Tyche reverse Roman Provincial. Tyche was the patron goddess of much of the Roman East, so d not know the city off the top of my head.

 

Many thanks PishPash!

 

Many thanks medoraman!

 

I agree with PISH and M-man, and if you post it in the 'ancients' thread/forum'. I'm sure one of the 'guys' will provide even more precise info if you want it...

It resembles a Troas, Alexandria coin I purchased (a city formerly in Turkey), so I'm guessing it may be from that geographical area....

 

kind of looks like severus alexander or goridan iii?

 

Well, at least three of us semi-pros do....

 

To add to the confusion, in absence of a translation of the Greek, I noticed two examples of a 'turreted Tyche' reverse (as your example has) from Troas, but attributed to Alexander Severus and Gallienus---two other Emperors.

I'd submit the photo to those old pros for ID on the Ancients thread---who knows, it may even be a very scarce and unpublished type with that particular obverse and reverse.

 

Nice! Thanks Mikey!

 

The legend on the obverse clearly reads ΓOPΔIANOC - Gordian III.

It's a provincial issue of the Singara mint, Mesopotamia. A scarce coin.

Compare to this example sold by CNG.

 

Sweet! Thank you John Anthony! Glad to hear that this is a scarce one, especially since I got it many years ago with a large group of coins for only $10. It had been into oblivion for almost a decade, until I found it with some "not so important" coins a few days ago. Also, glad to hear I wasn't wrong about Gordian !

 

It's about a $50 - $75 coin in that grade.

 

I'm glad JA was able to nail that down for you.....I just found my correct reading glasses and the Greek obviously makes it clear it is of Gordian.

I congratulate you on a fantastic find!!!

 

Thanks!!!

 

Gosh dang it and my lack of Greek reading skills. My first impression was it was a pic of GIII, but I misread the legend.

Good thing I do not collect Romans, eh?

 

The problem is that it isn't just Greek. It's a mishmash of Greek and Roman alphabets, that varies from one province to another, and if that weren't enough, the shapes of the letters can be different from one mint to another. And, sometimes words are abbreviated several different ways.

Provincial legends frustrated me so much in my first year of collecting ancients, that I literally studied a thousand coins to get the hang of it.