Gordian III, gold aureus, Rome mint, AD 238-244

Gordian III, gold aureus, Rome mint, AD 238-244. Weight 5.01 g; c. 20 mm; die axis 6 h. Obverse legend IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG with laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse legend PIETAS AVGVSTI showing Pietas standing facing, head left, raising both hands in gesture of prayer. References: RIC IV (Gordian III) 116; Calicó 3192; Cohen 271; BMCRE 23. Sharp legends and clear reverse figure, retaining much original lustre; a well-preserved aureus from the early reign of Rome’s last Severan-linked emperor. Mint state.

Gordian III ascended the throne at only thirteen after the violent upheavals of AD 238 and relied heavily on the Senate and his Praetorian prefects for legitimacy. Coins of his first years stress traditional Roman virtues such as pietas, the respectful devotion owed to the gods, family and state. By pairing his youthful portrait with the personification of Pietas, the regime signalled that the new prince would honour his murdered forebears and restore religious and civic order following the turbulence that had swept away six emperors in a single year.