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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 3102251, member: 56859&quot;]Such a fabulous reverse scene! </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This Gordian III bronze from Hadrianopolis features an ostrich on the reverse.&nbsp; The presence of ostriches brought from afar is attested in contemporary histories but I have not found anything saying from where they came.&nbsp; Most ostriches are from sub-Saharan Africa but there were pockets of them in the Arabian peninsula.&nbsp; Those peninsular ostriches would have been closer to the provinces-- perhaps easier to acquire?&nbsp; I postulate that the ostrich shown on this coin is from the now extinct Arabian ostrich, <i>Struthio camelus syriacus.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/gordianiii-ostrich-hadrianopolis-rt-jpg.559812/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>THRACE, Hadrianopolis. Gordian III </b></p><p>AE 18 mm, 2.59 gm</p><p>Obv: AVT K M ANT ΓORΔIANOC AVΓ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.</p><p>Rev: AΔPIANOΠOΛEITΩN; ostrich running right</p><p>Ref: Varbanov 3833, rare</p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-now-extinct-animal-on-a-roman-coin.287175/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-now-extinct-animal-on-a-roman-coin.287175/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-now-extinct-animal-on-a-roman-coin.287175/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Looking over that writeup again, it is very possible that my theory is wrong.&nbsp; Perhaps it would have been easier to bring African ostriches to Rome and provinces via boat (Nile and Mediterranean Sea), although I guess it depends on the location of the province.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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