Provincial bronze issue of Gordian III (AD 238–244), struck at Tomis in Moesia Inferior, belongs to the civic coinage of the Pontic region, where local mints combined imperial portraiture with distinctly military and sacred imagery.
The obverse shows a laureate and draped bust of the emperor facing right, with the Greek legend ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤΩΝΙ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ, identifying Gordian as autokrator and augustus. The use of Greek reflects standard practice in the eastern provinces for imperial titulature.
The reverse depicts an eagle standing on an altar, facing left with its head turned right, flanked by two military standards, with the legend MHTPO ΠONTOY TOMEΩC, referring to the city as the “metropolis of Pontus.” The eagle (aquila) was one of the principal symbols of the Roman army and carried strong sacred associations, also linked to the imperial cult. Its placement upon an altar emphasizes a ritual and sacrificial context, while the accompanying standards reinforce the military dimension of the composition, pointing to the presence and importance of Roman forces in the region.
Roman Provincial
Moesia Inferior, Tomis, Gordian III (238-244), AE
Obverse: laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian III
ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤΩΝΙ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ
Reverse: eagle standing left on altar, head right, on each side of the altar standard
MHTPO ΠONTOY TOMEΩC
Diameter 26 m, weight 11.21 g
