Scarcer Type for Gordian III in Pella/Macedonia

[Markus]

I would like to add a variety to the Pella listings in Varbanov, namely the coins with the (full) obverse inscription IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG. These are only known from one obverse die (and five reverse dies), and the last time they have been mentioned goes back to the time of Mionnet (S III/602 and 608) and Cohen (480 and 488), most probably from the specimens in Paris.

Most of Gordian’s coinage in Pella has the shortened version IMP C M ANT GORDIANVS (18 dies – at least up to now), some have IMP C M ANT GORDIANVS AVG (2 dies), and the last emission has IMP GORDIANVS P F AG (3 dies).

Regarding the total expected number of obverse dies, we will probably end up with around 30 (32 according to the method of Carter, 26 according to Good’s method – I have used the information compiled in RPC VII, p. 64 for this calculation).
This is to be compared with 39 obverse dies in Thessalonica (Touratsoglou), 21 in Edessa (Papaefthymiou + 1), 5 in Dion (Kremydi-Sicilianou) and even fewer in Amphipolis and Cassandreia.

The reign of Gordian is the one with the highest output of coinage of Pella as a colony.

Of the five different reverse die pairings, three are with Pan, and two with city-goddess. None of the five reverse dies connects to another obverse die (until now).

Whether the Mionnet/Cohen specimens are from other dies, remains to be seen, probably until the publication of the relevant Paris SNG.

Here one example of each (identical dies to: Köhler/Osbahr 484corr [CAES, not C], and http://mihalkam.ancients.info/images/gordian1/giiipell3.jpg).


Markus

[Arminius]

Hello,

i can´t find this bust type of the Gordian III-Pella-Tyche issue:



Æ24 (24-25 mm / 7,10 g),
Obv.: IMP C M ANT GORDIANVS , laureate bust of Gordian right.
Rev.: COL IVL A - [VG] PЄLL / A , Tyche (the city goddess) seated l., raising her hand to the mouth.
cf. Gaebler (AMNG III), 35 (different bust type) ; cf. SNG Cop 286-287 (different bust type) ; cf. BMC 44 ; ANG ANS 640 (different bust type) ; Sear GIC - ; Mihalka coll. - .

Maybe RPC VII lists this variant?


regards

[Markus]

Same obverse die as Lindgren 1114 (SNG Cop 286 is the other "naked" die). These two are with Pan on the reverse though, but I have also two specimens with the city goddess (but from the other obverse die). RPC VII is Asia only.

Markus

[Arminius]

So it´s a new die combination "naked" die / Tyche ?

[Markus]

Yes, it's unpublished (and if I'm not mistaken, it's the reverse die with the A-VAG PELL-A error, I don't have a picture unfortunately).

[Arminius]

Can´t find out by the above text what of the four Mionnet and Cohen numbers this is - but it´s certainly two of those mentioned and a rare issue.
Looks like a double die match of the Tyche type:



Æ25 (25 mm / 9,80 g),
Obv.: IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG , laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian right, seen from behind.
Rev.: COL IVL - AVG PELLA , Tyche (the city goddess) seated l., typical gesture of raising her hand to the mouth.
cf. Gaebler (AMNG III), - (cf. 35 different bust type and legends) .

regards

(ps: One day i kill a couple of those over-cleaners - really)
 

[Markus]

That would be Mionnet SIII, 608 (Coh 488).

In the meantime I have found the following article:

Michael Mackensen, Zur makedonischen Bronzeprägung des 3. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. (Jahrbuch für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte 21:121-130; 1971)

in which this type is also described from a specimen in Munich (Prähistorische Staatssammlung Nr. 7018), though from "the other" goddess reverse die.

Markus