GORDIAN III 241AD Rome Ancient Silver Roman Coin “Farnese” Hercules i59151

$350.00 $315.00

Availability: 1 in stock

SKU: i59151 Category:

Item: i59151

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Gordian III – Roman Emperor: 238-244 A.D.
Silver Antoninianus 22mm (4.11 grams) Rome mint: 241-243 A.D.
Reference: Reference: RIC 95, C 404
IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG – Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
VIRTVTI AVGVSTI – the “Farnese” Hercules standing facing, head right, resting hand
on hip and placing left on club set on rock; lion skin beside club.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

The Farnese Hercules is an ancient sculpture, probably an enlarged copy made in the early third century AD and signed by a certain Glykon, from an original by Lysippos (or one of his circle) that would have been made in the fourth century BC. The copy was made for the Baths of Caracalla in Rome (dedicated in 216 AD), where it was recovered in 1546.

 History

The heroically-scaled Hercules is one of the most famous sculptures of Antiquity, and has fixed the image of the mythic hero in the European imagination. It quickly made its way into the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, grandson of Pope Paul III. Alessandro Farnese was well placed to form one of the greatest collections of classical sculpture that has been assembled since Antiquity.

It stood for generations in its own room at Palazzo Farnese, Rome, where the hero was surrounded by frescoed depictions of his feats by Annibale Carracci and his studio, executed in the 1590s.

The Farnese statue was moved to Naples in 1787 and is now displayed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

The type was well known in Antiquity: a Hellenistic or Roman bronze reduction, found at Foligno is conserved in the Musée du Louvre; a small marble, probably Greek of the Roman period, is to be seen in the Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens (illustration).

The Farnese Hercules is a massive and muscular marble statue, following a lost original cast in bronze through a method called lost wax casting. It depicts a weary Hercules leaning on his club, which has his lion-skin draped over it. He is performing one of the last of The Twelve Labours, which is suggested by the apples of the Hesperides he holds behind his back. This prominently-sited statue was well liked by the Romans, and copies have been found in Roman palaces and gymnasiums: another, coarser, stood in the courtyard of Palazzo Farnese; one with the feigned (but probably ancient) inscription “Lykippos” has stood in the court of Palazzo Pitti, Florence, since the sixteenth century.

Guglielmo della Porta, the head had been recovered separately, from a well in Trastevere, and was bought for Farnese through the agency of della Porta, whose legs made to complete the figure were so well regarded that when the original legs were recovered from ongoing excavations in the Baths of Caracalla, della Porta’s were retained, on Michelangelo‘s advice, in part to demonstrate that modern sculptors could bear direct comparison with the ancients. The original legs, from the Borghese collection, were not reunited with the sculpture until 1787. Goethe, in his Italian Journey, recounts his differing impressions upon seeing the Hercules with each set of legs, marvelling at the clear superiority of the original ones.

 

Hercules is caught in a rare moment of repose. Leaning on his knobby club which is draped with the pelt of the Nemean Lion, he holds the apples of the Hesperides in his right hand, but conceals them behind his back like a baseball pitcher with a knuckleball. Many engravings and woodcuts spread the fame of the Farnese’s Hercules. By 1562 the find was already included in the set of engravings for Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (“Mirror of Rome’s Magnificence”) and connoisseurs, artists and tourists gaped at the original, which stood in the courtyard of the Palazzo Farnese, protected under the arcade. In 1590-91, during his trip to Rome, Hendrik Goltzius sketched the statue in the palazzo courtyard. Later (in 1591) Goltzius recorded the less-common rear view, in a bravura engraving (illustration, right), which emphasizes the already exaggerated muscular form with swelling and tapering lines that flow over the contours. The young Rubens made quick sketches of the Hercules’ planes and massing. Before photography, prints were the only way to put the image into many hands.

The Farnese Hercules, engraved by Hendrick Goltzius, 1591. Two onlookers give scale.

The sculpture was admired from the start, reservations about its exaggerated musculature only surfacing in the later eighteenth century. Napoleon remarked to Antonio Canova that its lack in the museum he accumulated in Paris was the most important gap in the collection, and the sculpture was more than once crated ready for shipment to Paris before the Napoleonic regime fled Naples.

Wealthy collectors could afford one of the numerous bronze replicas in sizes for table-top display. A full-size marble copy that belonged to the Bourbons of Naples is at the National Museum, Naples.

Copies of the Farnese Hercules appeared in 16th- and 18th-century gardens throughout Europe. During construction of the Alameda de Hercules (1574) in Seville, the oldest public garden preserved in Europe, on the cover were installed two columns from a Roman temple, an unquestionable sign of admiration for the Roman archaeological sites, elements of a building still preserved in the Marble Street. On them were placed two sculptures by Diego de Pesquera, in 1574, of the Farnese Hercules, as founder of the city, and of Julius Caesar, restorer of Híspalis. The first was a copy of the Farnese Hercules, near the monumental size of the famous Roman marble from the Baths of Caracalla. At Wilhelmshöhe, near Kassel, a colossal version 8.5 m high produced by Johann Jacob Anthoni, 1713–1717, has become the city’s mascot. André Le Nôtre placed a full-size gilded version against the skyline at the far end of the main vista at Vaux-le-Vicomte. That at Versailles is a copy by Jean Cornu, 1684–1686. In Scotland a rare copy in lead, of the first half of the 18th century, is sited incongruously in the central Highlands, overlooking the recently restored Hercules Garden in the grounds of Blair Castle.

 


 

Bust Gordianus III Louvre Ma1063.jpg

Gordian III – Roman Emperor: 238-244 A.D.

Caesar: 238 A.D. (under Balbinus and Pupienus)
Augustus: 238-244 A.D.

| Grandson of Gordian I | Nephew of Gordian II | Adopted Successor of Balbinus and Pupienus | Husband of Tranquillina |

Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January 20, 225 – February 11, 244), known in English as Gordian III, was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.

Following the murder of emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), the capital of the Roman province Germania Inferior, Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed emperor, despite strong opposition of the Roman senate and the majority of the population. In response to what was considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian’s grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the Africa Province. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died, but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men, victims of Maximinus’ oppression.

Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and the Senate elected Pupienus and Balbinus as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian’s fate, so that the Senate decided to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his grandfather, and raise him to the rank of Caesar and imperial heir. Pupienus and Balbinus defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several legions, namely the ParthicaII who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and even an enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On July 29, Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the Praetorian guard and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.

Rule

Due to Gordian’s age, the imperial government was surrendered to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the senate. In 240, Sabinianus revolted in the African province, but the situation was dealt quickly. In 241, Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect, Timesitheus. As chief of the Praetorian guard and father in law of the emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman empire.

In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the Germanic tribes across the Rhine and Danube, and the Sassanid kingdom across the Euphrates increased its own attacks. When the Persians under Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, and sent a huge army to the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the Battle of Resaena (243). The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy’s territory, when his father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign, and the emperor’s security, were at risk.

Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefect and the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244, the Persians counter-attacked. Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle of Misiche) near modern Fallujah (Iraq) and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III. Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away, upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian’s death is unknown.

Gordian’s youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper, granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to appease the population and avoid riots.


Frequently Asked Questions

Mr. Ilya Zlobin, world-renowned expert numismatist, enthusiast, author and dealer in authentic ancient Greek, ancient Roman, ancient Byzantine, world coins & more.
Mr. Ilya Zlobin, world-renowned expert numismatist, enthusiast, author and dealer in authentic ancient Greek, ancient Roman, ancient Byzantine, world coins & more.

Who am I dealing with?

You are dealing with Ilya Zlobin, ancient coin expert, enthusiast, author and dealer with an online store having a selection of over 15,000 items with great positive feedback from verified buyers and over 10 years experience dealing with over 57,000 ancient and world coins and artifacts. Ilya Zlobin is an independent individual who has a passion for coin collecting, research and understanding the importance of the historical context and significance all coins and objects represent. Most others are only concerned with selling you, Ilya Zlobin is most interested in educating you on the subject, and providing the largest selection, most professional presentation and service for the best long-term value for collectors worldwide creating returning patrons sharing in the passion of ancient and world coin collecting for a lifetime.

How long until my order is shipped?

Orders are shipped by the next business day (after receipt of payment) most of the time.

How will I know when the order was shipped?

After your order has shipped, you will be left positive feedback, and that date could be used as a basis of estimating an arrival date. Any tracking number would be found under your ‘Purchase history’ tab.

USPS First Class mail takes about 3-5 business days to arrive in the U.S. International shipping times cannot be estimated as they vary from country to country.

Standard international mail to many countries does not include a tracking number, and can also be slow sometimes. For a tracking number and signature confirmation, you may want to do Express Mail International Shipping, which costs more, however, is the fastest and most secure. Additionally you may be able to receive your order in as little as 3-5 business days using this method. For Express Mail International, it may be possible to place up to 10-15 items in one package (for the one shipping cost) as it is flat rate envelope, which may be the most cost-effective, secure and fastest way to receive items internationally. Send me a message about this and I can update your invoice should you want this method.

Getting your order to you, quickly and securely is a top priority and is taken seriously here. Great care is taken in packaging and mailing every item securely and quickly.

Please be aware, I cannot take responsibility for any postal service delivery delays, especially for international packages as it may happen in rare instances.

What is a certificate of authenticity and what guarantees do you give that the item is authentic?

Each of the items sold here, is provided with a Certificate of Authenticity, and a Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity, issued by a world-renowned numismatic and antique expert that has identified over 57,000 ancient coins and has provided them with the same guarantee. You will be very happy with what you get with the COA; a professional presentation of the coin, with all of the relevant information and a picture of the coin you saw in the listing. Additionally, the coin is inside it’s own protective coin flip (holder), with a 2×2 inch description of the coin matching the individual number on the COA.

On the free-market such a presentation alone, can be considered a $25-$50 value all in itself, and it comes standard with your purchases from me, FREE. With every purchase, you are leveraging my many years of experience to get a more complete context and understanding of the piece of history you are getting. Whether your goal is to collect or give the item as a gift, coins presented like this could be more prized and valued higher than items that were not given such care and attention to.

Buy a coin today and own a piece of history, guaranteed.

Ilya Zlobin's COA and Guarantee for His Coins

Is there a money back guarantee?

I offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee. I stand behind my coins and would be willing to exchange your order for either store credit towards other coins, or refund, minus shipping expenses, within 30 days from the receipt of your order. My goal is to have the returning customers for a lifetime, and I am so sure in my coins, their authenticity, numismatic value and beauty, I can offer such a guarantee.

Is there a number I can call you with questions about my order?

You can contact me directly via ask seller a question and request my telephone number, or go to my About Me Page to get my contact information only in regards to items purchased on eBay.

When should I leave feedback?

Once you receive your order, please leave a positive feedback. Please don’t leave any negative feedbacks, as it happens sometimes that people rush to leave feedback before letting sufficient time for their order to arrive. Also, if you sent an email, make sure to check for my reply in your messages before claiming that you didn’t receive a response. The matter of fact is that any issues can be resolved, as reputation is most important to me. My goal is to provide superior products and quality of service.

How and where do I learn more about collecting ancient coins?

Visit the “Guide on How to Use My Store” for on an overview about using my store, with additional information and links to all other parts of my store which may include educational information on topics you are looking for.

You may also want to do a YouTube search for the term “ancient coin collecting” for educational videos on this topic.

  • Selection Required: Select product options above before making new offer.
  • Offer Sent! Your offer has been received and will be processed as soon as possible.
  • Error: There was an error sending your offer, please try again. If this problem persists, please contact us.

Make Offer

To make an offer please complete the form below:
$
Please wait...
YEAR

Year_in_description

RULER

Gordian III

COMPOSITION

Silver

DENOMINATION

Denomination_in_description

Shopping Cart