Gordian III AR Tetradrachm Antioch AD 241-244 Eagle & Ram (Aries)

Gordian III, Tetradrachm, silver; reign 238–244, struck at Antioch, AD 241–244; 13.8 g; 27 mm. Obverse: ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind. Reverse: ΔΗΜΑΡΧ ΕΞ ΥΠΑ ΤΟ Β; eagle standing facing, head left, wreath in beak, tail left; between the legs a ram running left with head reverted; crescent above the ram’s head. Struck at Antioch on the provincial tetradrachm standard with Greek imperial titulature; die axis about 12h. Reference: RPC VII.2, 3513.

Historical significance: Gordian III became emperor as a teenager and relied heavily on the eastern mints to supply silver for the Syrian economy and for his Persian campaign. Antioch served as the principal mint for this regional currency. The reverse legend records tribunician power and the second consulship (AD 241), fixing the issue to the final years of his reign. The eagle is the canonical Antioch type, while the ram with crescent represents Aries, the city’s zodiacal emblem, identifying the mint and local civic identity on an imperial coinage.