I bought this Roman provincial because of its’ “high standards”

I saw this coin at a recent show and just fell for the reverse. The reverse, to me, brings a lot of nice design elements and symbols together. And, who can’t love Capricorns as the topper.







It was labelled as Valerian II from Antioch.

After doing a little research, I believe it to be Gordian III from Nicaea, Bithynia.

Please correct me if I am off there.

 

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Nice!

 

Nice standards!

Here's one of mine, a very common coin but appealing nonetheless:

 

Nice.

 

You are right that it is from Nicaea. When it says
NIKAIEΩN (of Nicaea) on the reverse, that is a clue!

We can't expect random dealers to be able to provide correct ancient-coin attributions. When we can attribute them ourselves, it is to our advantage.

 

ΝΙΚΑΕΩΝ (and other city names ending -ΩΝ) is actually the genitive (possessive) plural. This usage is referred to in the literature as the "city ethnic". The meaning is "of [the people of] Nicaea" or "of the Nicaeans".

In English, meaning is determined by word order. In Greek and other inflected languages, meaning is determined primarily by the form of the words, usually endings attached to a root. Word order is secondary. When looking for the name of the issuing city on a Greek coin, look for -ΩΝ.

 

Good point on the correct interpretation of highly inflected languages. pay attention to the endings.