I didn't think that I would get either Gordian I or II Africanus given their rarity. But this one cropped up so I bought it. Gordian I and II were father and son. At the time that Maximinus Thrax was deposed, they declared themselves to be co-emperors. They were located in Carthage. Capellianus who was the governor of Numidia, was a Maximinus supporter. He had an army and the Gordians did not. Gordian II pulled together a rag tag army to take on Capellianus' professional army. No surprisingly the result was a slaughter. Gordian II and his army were annihilated. When Gordian I, who was 80 years old, heard the news, he committed suicide. He was an emperor for only 21 days. It is interesting that Zander Klawans mentioned this incident in the historical introduction to his introductory book on ancient Roman coins without citing the name of the emperor. IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG "Emperor Marcus Antonius Gordianus Africanus Augustus" Roma seated on a shield, holding victory and a sceptre. ROMAE AETERNAE "To everlasting Rome." Sear 8447 Gordian Africanus I had a long and distinguished career in service to the Roman Government. He had been the Governor of Lower Britain during the rule of Caracalla.
Nice piece. Like you mentioned, extremely rare but more important extremely in demand by collectors wishing to complete an emperor portrait set. I find demand much more important than supply, especially in ancients.
I think that demand is the real price determinate for all the coins, tokens and medals that I have collected. Something can be as rare as can be, but if no one wants it, the price will be low.
Nice one and clearly Gordian I due to the less-recessed hairline, as Gordian II was more bald than his father. Good pick-up.
That's a magnificent coin, @johnmilton. Regardless, here's a good point of reference for the elder members of the Gordian dynasty as @ancient coin hunter mentioned above. Gordian I ----------------------------------------------- Gordian II Images courtesy of Wildwinds.
Here is my Sestertius of Gordian I with the same reverse design as the OP coin: According to RIC, the type and legend ROMAE AETERNAE, which also appears on Gordian´s single known Aureus, is alluding to the imperishable tradition of constitutionalism in Rome and harks back to the constitutional and pro-senatorial tone of the reign of Severus Alexander.
One of the greatest moments in my collecting life was once at Harlan Berk. Sure he can be grumpy, but I think I impressed him with my knowledge of his books, (Svornos, etc), so then he gave me a tour of his vault. He reached in and said "these are kind of nice". It was a box of sesertii, and if you can believe it MUCH higher grade than these. I got to hold 2 perfectly centered, perfect flan, FDC sestertii of Gordian I and II, along with other scarce rulers. I think I was trembling thinking how much they had to be worth.
Congratulations, @johnmilton ... not only a great looking coin, but fantastic finding these tough to acquire pieces of history. Well done!
Here are some new pictures of the coin. I had to use a different camera yesterday because my desk top computer was in the shop. Now it's back. The first pictures were too yellow and I could not fix them.
