Lot 2634
Gordian III, AD 238-244. Gold Aureus (4.94g) minted at Rome, late AD 240-early 243. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III right. Reverse: Hercules resting after the completion of his Labors -- standing facing, head right, resting his right hand on hip and his left on a club set on a rock; lion's skin draped before. RIC 108; Calicó 3242. A few small obverse scratches. Well struck and sharp, nicely toned.
The reverse type of this coin is based on the Farnese Hercules discovered in 1546 during the excavation of the Baths of Caracalla. One of antiquity's most famous sculptures, the massive, marble statue made for the Baths is believed to be an enlarged copy of an early 3rd Century AD piece signed by one Glykon who used a 4th Century BC statue by Lysippos as his model. The excavation was commissioned by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) who sought classical sculptures to adorn his family's palace in Rome. And the Hercules statue would be one of his rewards, sitting for two hundred years in the Palazzo Farnese - hence its name, before it was moved to Naples in 1787, where it can be seen today at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Estimated Value $4,000 - 5,000
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| Realized $3,565 |
