Agora Auctions, LLC
Numismatic Auction 33 26 May 2015
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Gordian III. A.D. 238-244. AR antoninianus (22 mm, 3.89 g, 1 h). Rome mint, Struck A.D. 240-243. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, Hercules standing right, hand on hip, and leaning on club set on rock, lion's skin over arm. RIC 95; RSC 404. Near EF, very lightly toned and with a touch of graininess.
It has been suggested that the depiction of Hercules on the reverse of this coin was copied from the 'Farnese Hercules'. The 'Farnese Hercules' is an early third century A.D. masterpiece by the otherwise unknown artist Glykon, who ultimately based his work on the 4th century B.C. sculpture made by the famed artist Lysippos or one of his followers. The statue was commissioned for the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which was dedicated in A.D. 216, but subsequently was lost to time until it was found in 1546. After its recovery, it was displayed in its own room at Palazzo Farnese in Rome, which was decorated with frescoes depicting the hero's Twelve Labors, but was subsequently moved in 1787 to Naples, where it currently resides in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
It has been suggested that the depiction of Hercules on the reverse of this coin was copied from the 'Farnese Hercules'. The 'Farnese Hercules' is an early third century A.D. masterpiece by the otherwise unknown artist Glykon, who ultimately based his work on the 4th century B.C. sculpture made by the famed artist Lysippos or one of his followers. The statue was commissioned for the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which was dedicated in A.D. 216, but subsequently was lost to time until it was found in 1546. After its recovery, it was displayed in its own room at Palazzo Farnese in Rome, which was decorated with frescoes depicting the hero's Twelve Labors, but was subsequently moved in 1787 to Naples, where it currently resides in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.