Gordian III Antoninianus, RIC IV Gordian III 38

Monetary Context and the Dominance of the Antoninianus

During the reign of Gordian III from 238 to 244 AD, the Roman currency system underwent a structural transformation in which the antoninianus, or radiate double denarius, established nearly total hegemony over imperial silver output. Originally introduced by Caracalla in 215 AD and temporarily suspended under Severus Alexander, the denomination was revived under Balbinus and Pupienus in 238 AD and subsequently embraced by the administration of Gordian III as the fundamental unit of state expenditure. The denarius, while still struck in small commemorative or consular quantities, ceased to function as a significant medium of mass circulation. RIC IV Gordian III 38 belongs to this massive remonetization effort. The denomination was tariffed at two denarii but maintained an intrinsic silver standard of approximately forty to forty-five percent fineness, with average specimen weights hovering between 3.8 and 4.4 grams. This structural overvaluation allowed the imperial treasury to amplify bullion reserves and manage surging fiscal commitments, particularly troop stipends and defensive preparations across vulnerable frontier zones.

Rome Mint Organization and Technical Production

RIC IV Gordian III 38 was struck exclusively at the principal mint of Rome, which operated through a structured system of six distinct officinae or workshops. While late Roman issues frequently bore explicit workshop marks, the mint of Rome in 240 AD relied on internal substantive coordination, distributing specific reverse designs or legend pairings among the officinae to track output quotas. Numismatic analyses, notably by Roger Bland, place this issue within the third major emission of Rome for Gordian III. The mechanical execution exhibits the high technical competence characteristic of the metropolitan mint during this phase: flans were cast in circular molds and struck using hand-held iron or bronze dies aligned manually, typically resulting in die axes centered around twelve or six o'clock. The massive output of this series required the rapid cutting of numerous die pairs, resulting in minor stylistic variations in drapery, portrait contour, and letter spacing, yet the core typological parameters remained strictly regulated across workshop benches.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC IV Gordian III 38 presents a right-facing bust of Gordian III combining radiate, draped, and cuirassed elements. The radiate solar crown served as the primary visual identifier of the antoninianus denomination, distinguishing it instantly from laureate denarii. The portrait reflects the artistic conventions of the Rome mint during the earlier segment of the emperor's reign, capturing the facial features of an adolescent ruler who ascended the throne at approximately thirteen years of age. Engravers depicted smooth facial contours, a slightly rounded jawline, and cropped hair rendered with rhythmic, short die incisions beneath the spike points of the crown. The emperor wears a military cuirass partially covered by a paludamentum, or general's cloak, fastened at the right shoulder. This drapery arrangement emphasized his status as supreme commander of the Roman legions, despite his youth, visually reinforcing the authority of the princeps in the eyes of the army and citizenry alike.

Reverse Iconography of Roma Aeterna

The reverse design features Roma, the divine personification of the Roman state, seated facing left on a broad military shield. She is depicted helmeted and attired in a flowing stola or chiton with military attributes, embodying both civic divinity and martial power. In her extended right hand she supports a miniature winged Victory, who offers a wreath symbolizing triumphant dominion, while her raised left hand steadies a vertical or slightly inclined spear. Resting the personification upon her shield reinforces the defensive security of the empire under divinely sanctioned imperial oversight. The motif of Roma Aeterna formed a fundamental ideological pillar during the mid-third century AD, conveying an unbroken continuity of imperial permanence amidst shifting internal politics and external military threats. In 240 AD, this reverse directly countered provincial anxieties following the suppression of the rebellion led by Sabinianus in the province of Africa, asserting that Rome remained invincible and eternal.

Epigraphic Formulas and Ideology

The inscriptions on RIC IV Gordian III 38 provide critical chronological and political markers for the issue. The obverse legend reads IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, abbreviating Imperator Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Augustus. This formula preserves the full praenomen and gentilicium linking the young ruler directly to his grandfather Gordian I and uncle Gordian II, who had been proclaimed Augusti in 238 AD. The adoption of this expanded nomenclature served to entrench genealogical legitimacy following the tumultuous Year of the Six Emperors. The reverse legend, ROMAE AETERNAE, is framed in the dative case of dedication, translating as 'To Eternal Rome'. Rather than commemorating a specific dated magistrate milestone or tribunician renewal, this dative invocation functioned as a public religious commitment, dedicating the emperor's achievements and the coin's economic value to the perpetuity of the imperial capital and its sacred traditions.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the standard reference classification of Roman Imperial Coinage Volume IV Part III, Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham catalogued this issue as number 38, situating it within the early group of Gordian III's Rome coinage defined by the obverse legend IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG. Subsequent reassessments of hoard compositions and stylistic sequences by modern scholars, particularly Roger Bland, have securely isolated this type to the year 240 AD, falling within Bland's Issue 3 at Rome. Later in 240 AD, the mint altered the imperial obverse title across all denominations to IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, creating a clean chronological boundary that separates RIC 38 from subsequent antoninianus issues featuring Roma Aeterna, such as RIC IV Gordian III 70. The type is recognized without major institutional disputes regarding its attribution to Rome, providing numismatists with a precise chronological peg for dating associated archaeological deposits and hoard strata.

Circulation Patterns and Archaeological Evidence

Antoniniani of the RIC IV Gordian III 38 type were produced in enormous quantities and entered immediate, wide-scale circulation across the Mediterranean and transalpine provinces. Because the roman military served as the primary conduit for new coin dissemination, specimens of this issue are heavily concentrated along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, as well as Roman Britain, where military payrolls were disbursed. Prominent mid-third-century hoards, including the vast Dorchester hoard from Dorset and numerous continental deposits in Gaul and Germania, regularly feature RIC 38 in high specimen counts alongside neighboring emissions of 239 and 240 AD. The degree of physical wear on surviving specimens varies considerably depending on the date of final hoard concealment. Examples deposited during the systemic crises of the 250s and 260s AD show moderate wear from extended commercial use, whereas coins buried during localized disruptions of the early 240s AD frequently retain sharp strike details, demonstrating rapid transit from the Rome mint to provincial frontiers.

References

1. The Silver Coinage of Gordian III. Revue numismatique, 6e serie, tome 151, pp. 63-94
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC IV Gordian III 38. ric.4.gor_iii.38
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IV, Part III: Gordian III to Uranius Antoninus. p. 19, no. 38