Gordian I Africanus (March-April AD 238). AR Denarius

Gordian I Africanus (March-April AD 238). AR denarius (20mm, 3.56 gm ). NGC MS 5/5 – 4/5, Fine Style. Rome. IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Gordian I right, seen from behind / P M T-R P COS P P, Gordian I standing facing, head left, togate, branch in raised right hand, transverse baton in left. RIC IV.II 1. NGC has certified only three examples in Mint State and this is the one with highest grade. From the collection of EU gentlemen. Acquired on the German art market.An enduring mystery is the excellent quality of the Roman coinage of Gordian I and II, whose reign totaled 21 days, during which neither emperor left North Africa. Despite their brief production run, coins of Gordian I and II are notable for their fine portraiture and careful quality control. Both portraits are distinctive, carefully engraved, and clearly modelled on the actual rulers. There seems to have been no “interim phase” during which the imperial portrait was simply a modified version of the predecessor (as with Trajan and Maximinus I, both of whom were absent from Rome when raised to the purple). Two possibilities suggest themselves: (1) The “spontaneous” revolt of the Gordians in Africa had actually been carefully planned in advance, with coin dies prepared in secret from busts provided to the mint workers by their backers in the Senate; (2) the production of coins for Gordian I and II extended well beyond their brief reign, perhaps running concurrently with the coinage of Balbinus, Pupienus and Gordian III as Caesar, allowing time for proper effigies of the deceased rulers to be provided to the mint.