With the recent roach infestations we've had lately, one snuck into my residence and when I looked it up, I found it was eastern. Didn't own an eastern roach so I accepted it into my residence. He's been getting along with the western roaches pretty well. Bit on the beefy side too, 5.43g Kidding aside, I have wanted an eastern gordy, so I saw this and picked it up, mainly for the weight too. Gordian III (238 - 244 A.D) AR Antoninianus O: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right. R: ORIENS AVG, Sol standing left, raising right arm and holding globe in left hand. Antioch Mint 5.43g 22mm RIC IV, Part III, 213
Well, if Gordie III ants can be shared in this thread, regardless of Mint origin...this one is my favorite:
nice one mat! heres my fav gordian III ant of the 4 i own.... Gordian III AR Antoninianus. Rome. 243-244 AD. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, his radiate and cuirassed bust right / MARS PROPVG, Mars advancing right, holding shield & spear. RIC IV 145, RSC 155. 22.91mm 4.1g
the easterns did make a heavy coin and a very prominent nose on him. nice! my cracked but whole sole G3 coin .. antoninianus
You should be (an Ancients collector that is). As for Roach it is a relative new nickname we here have applied to Gordian III coins as they are really plentiful. The "Ant" is short for AR Antoninianus - the lazy way of talking about this denomination. Hope this helps you understand our lingo.
My antoninianus has MARTEM PROPUGNATOREM on the reverse, dative case I guess. I'm not showing a picture, one more roach and we have to break out the can of Raid.
I do own 20 or so ancients, just don't have the time to attribute them or the time to photograph them and have you folks do the work for me!! They are fascinating and I have actually got 2 persons interested and into collecting them. One thing I always ask is, how do you know they are real? I know buying from known sources is key, but??
How do you know the silver US dollar you buy is real? I was shown three such dollars purchased from China. What a joke. There is no way anyone with any kind of knowledge could be fooled. Just for beginners, the weight was about half what a silver dollar should weigh. It's nearly the same with Ancients. Once you become familiar, you can generally tell by the fabric, the weight and size, and the overall looks. Don't get me wrong. There are some very well done fakes that have even fooled some on this forum (including me), thus buying from highly regarded sellers or known dealers/auction houses is pretty good assurance against being tricked by some fake. If one chooses to buy via platforms such as Ebay, one must accept the inherent gamble unless, again, you are familiar with the Ebay seller. I have no idea what you collect, but so many modern coins have designs based on Greek and Roman coins. So why not get the original artwork rather than a modern day replica? Just sayin'. Besides, holding one of these tiny pieces of art in your hand can conjure the historical imagination like none other. It's nearly magical IMHO.
We who hang around here regularly may develop a bad attitude about all the questions we get asking if a coin is real. This is no bother at all when the coin is a deceptive fake but it is hard to keep a straight face when we get an inquiry on a coin marked 'copy' or something with less workmanship than Monopoly money that someone bought from a guy wearing five Rolexes lurking in the bushes outside some tourist site in the Holy Land (or a camp in Afghanistan). We are all fooled on occasion and many of us would not be able to tell a fake 1916D dime but feel more comfortable recognizing the handiwork of our favorite modern fakers (Bulgarians or other). Buying from known sources is most certainly key but I bought a coin on eBay yeasterday from a seller whose other holdings suggests he would not know a fake if he had one. I do not recommend such practices but I have found coins that way that I wanted at prices only a little more than I might have had to pay a real dealer who knew that there was no market for the thing except for me. We buy the coins we want where we find them and we make mistakes along the way. Those who want to be safe from 'problems' play differently and listen when we give the 'know your sources' advice. Post photos. We would love to see them.
