Ancients
Gordian III Pius (AD 238-244). AV aureus (20mm, 4.90 gm, 12h). Rome, AD 240-243. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Gordian right / VIRTVTI AVGVSTI, Hercules standing right, resting right hand on hip and placing left on club set on rock; lion skin beside club. RIC IV 108. Calicó 3242. Reverse die a bit worn, otherwise well struck and lustrous. Extremely Fine. The pose of Hercules on the reverse seems to be modeled on the famous "Farnese Hercules" statue, discovered at the Baths of Caracalla in 1546. The statue, an icon of male virility, was sculpted in the early third century AD by a certain Glycon, who signed his name on the base; however the pose was copied from a Greek original sculpted by Lysippus in the 4th century BC.
Estimate: 4500-5500 USD