Watch List notes:

CARIA. Halicarnassus. Gordian III, 238-244. Assarion (Bronze, 19 mm, 5.83 g, 7 h). ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III to right, seen from behind. Rev. ΗΡΟΔΟΤΟϹ ΑΛΙΚΑΡΝΑϹϹЄⲰΝ Bare-headed, draped and bearded bust of Herodotos to right. RPC VII.1, 601. Very rare and of great historical interest. Minor deposits and with some light scratches on the obverse, otherwise, good fine.


This issue honors the greatest citizen of Halicarnassus, the historian Herodotus (circa 490/80-430/20 BC), whom Cicero referred to as 'the father of history'. Herodotus is most famous for his description of the Greco-Persian Wars and his systematic investigation of his sources, which laid the groundwork for our modern understanding of history.