Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Gordian I Africanus. Silver Denarius (3.19 g), AD 238. Rome. IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian I right. Reverse P M T-R P COS P P, emperor, togate, standing facing, head left, holding branch and short scepter. RIC 1; BMC 1-3; RSC 2. An exceptional example, needle sharp with an amazing portrait of the emperor. Luster present and delicately toned. Very rare and one of the finest specimens known. Nearly Mint State.

Discontent with the rule of Maximinus I, who was viewed as a barbarian by Rome's elite and was generally hated otherwise due to heavy taxation to finance his military operations against the Germans and Sarmatians, led to three serious revolts. The first two were ruthlessly suppressed. The third started in Africa, where wealthy landowners revolted against the heavy financial burdens imposed by a corrupt local treasury official who was using false judgments for extortion. The landowners equipped their clients and farmhands with whatever weapons and farm tools were handy, slew the offending treasury official and his bodyguard, then proclaimed the aging governor, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus, and his son as co-emperors. The Senate in Rome quickly backed the cause of the African landowners, affirming the elevation of Gordian I and Gordian II as co-emperors. Upon hearing the news of the revolt, Maximinus, who was wintering in Sirmium, prepared his armies and marched on Rome.

The reign of the Gordiani was short-lived, lasting at most a mere 36 days. Capellianus, the governor of Numidia, controlled the only legion in the area and nursed a long-standing grudge against the Gordiani. He assembled his troops, the veteran legio III Augusta, and marched on Carthage where he easily overwhelmed the ragtag forces of the Gordiani. Gordian II was killed in the fighting, and on hearing the news his son's death and the annihilation of the local levies, the elder Gordian hanged himself.
Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000.
Ex A Gentleman's Collection (Triton XII, 5 January 2009), 719; Tkalec (18 February 2002), 218.