How often do you come across the smaller Gordian III bronzes?

Here is the emperor sacrificing on an as. The only other example of this type that I know of sold in the New York Sale of 2010, see this page (scroll down).



Gordian III, AD 238-244
Æ As, 25mm, 9.7g, 12h; Rome mint, AD 240.
Obv.: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right.
Rev.: P M TR P III COS P P S C, Emperor standing left, sacrificing out of patera over lit tripod and holding short scepter.
Ref.: RIC IVc 292b, Cohen 230.

 

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You don’t see them that often. I have this As and another of the same type as yours (in rougher shape and unphotographed) versus 65 or so Gordian Antoninianus coins (I know, I know… how could you need 65 of those?!). So… I’d guess that 1:32-ish ratio of As to Antoninianus is close.

 

GORDIAN III AS


RI
Gordian III
238-244 CE
AE As 25mm
Hercules S-C

 

I only have one as and was at one time trying harder to find another wince I wanted a Laetitia of the type overstruck by my Byzantine Anonymous. I discovered that asses are a lot harder to find than sestertii and tended to be in lower grades or higher priced. My one is the same type shown by Alegandron.

 

I took a quick shot of my coin similar to the OP. It's nicer than I remembered! Picture is a bit dark but it's what I could do in the short amount of time I had.

Gordian III - Rome - RIC IVc 292b

 

I like yours better than mine - the detail is better and the surfaces are less rough.

 

Here is a Gordian III dupondius:



24 mm. 7.85 grams.
ABVNDANTIA AVG
RIC IV.II 282, page 46 "Scarce. A hybrid?"
Struck "issue 3" at Rome

 

The dupondius seems to be the most scarce for Gordian. Too many ants, 2 Ases, 8-ish sestercies… but no dups here yet!

 

Interesting how our coins are the same, yet the dies are totally different.

 

@Valentinian

Since your dupondius lacks PIVS in its obverse legend, shouldn't it be RIC 275c rather than 282?

 

Now I see it is 274c (not 275c and not 282). RIC calls is "C" but our members don't seem to think so. Thank you for helping me fix the attribution.

 

In my limited experience, anything AE smaller than a sestertius is hard to find for Gordian III. But by chance I came across two in eBay lots this year so far, both asses (as's? I hate calling them "asses"). Both are rough:


Gordian III Æ As
(240 A.D.) Rome Mint
IMP GORDIA[NVS PI]VS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS A[VG] S [C], Virtus standing front, head left, holding branch and inverted spear, shield set on ground behind.
RIC 293b; Cohen 391.
(11.05 grams / 25 x 23 mm)
eBay Jan. 2022

This one came in some antique souvenir packaging from the Roman baths at Bath:


Gordian III Æ As
(241-243 A.D.)
Rome Mint
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / IOVI [STAT]ORI S C, Jupiter standing front holding thunderbolt and sceptre.
RIC 298b; Cohen 112.
(9.33 grams / 22 x 21 mm)
eBay Jan. 2022
Attribution Note: Coin came packaged in a cardboard holder with the printed heading: The Roman Baths of Bath, England / Genuine Roman Bronze Coin. The coin was taped to hole cut in holder with dried-out cellophane tape. Addition descriptions of the actual coin typed out on blue paper and glued to cardboard. c. 1940s-1960s (?) souvenir.

 

Some really lovely examples in this thread! They are definitely tough to find, especially nice ones. Here are some asses and one dupondius of Gordian III and later:

Gordie:


Philip I:


Trajan Decius (dupondius):


Valerian (this is Apollo standing left, holding laurel-branch and lyre on rock, APOLINI CONSERVA S-C)


Gallienus (joint reign with Valerian):


The very last asses were issued under Gallienus, sole reign post-260. Here's one of Salonina, Juno reverse:

 

I'd forgotten about this one, since I just bought it and it has not arrived yet. It might be an as of Gordian III with Abundantia reverse. I say "might" because the seller sold (on eBay) it as a "remake."

Most "remakes" seem pretty obvious to me and this one did not seem obvious. I checked the Forgery Network and poked around in general and could not find any fakes of this type. The price was under $15, so I decided to take a gamble. The seller's photos are all I have, but they are better than a lot of mine. No dimension or weight at this time. If real, I think it is RIC 274b. If not, it goes in the Black Box of Shame with my other reckless gambles .

I notice the only other Abundantia type in this thread is that interesting dupondius posted by @Valentinian. As for the asses, there are three examples of RIC 274b in Wildwinds, two of which seem to be the same coin (or incredibly close die-and-flan-and-wear matches). https://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s8771.html

Here is mine. The portrait looks a tad "off" to me for Gordian, but sometimes his earlier issues feature portraits that are not quite Classic Gordy. Any opinions welcome; if this is a known fake, please let me know!

 

...oh, so another something i haven't got ..i've never gave it much thought...dang you @John Anthony ...now i gotta see ifn i can find one 9_9(i'm already investing in Beany Babies..i'll post my 1st when it gets here)..

 

I've got a Gordian III as with Hercules like Alegandron's. Funnily, I had no recollection of bidding on this or another coin when the bill came

Obv.: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG - Bust of Gordian III, laureate, draped, cuirassed, right
Rev.: VIRTVTI AVGVSTI S C - Hercules, nude, standing right, resting right hand on hip and resting left hand on club set on rock; beside club, lion-skin
Mint: Rome (240-243 AD)
Wt./Size/Axis: 8.80g / 24mm / 1h
References:

• RIC 309

Acquisition: ACR Auctions Online auction E-Live Auction 105 #2403 21-Oct-2021



ATB,
Aidan.