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Æ33 - Gordian III ΑΒΓΑΡΟϹ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ
| Issuer | Kingdom of Osroene, Edessa mint |
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| Year | 239-242 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 20.27 g |
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| Obverse description | Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Emperor Gordian III facing right, depicted three-quarter from the rear, with the radiate crown clearly visible above the youthful imperial effigy. The cuirass is rendered with detailed pteryges at the shoulder, and the drapery falls across the left shoulder. A Greek imperial legend encircles the bust within a beaded border. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑΥΤΟΚ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟϹ ϹΕΒ |
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| Additional information |
Osroene was a client kingdom wedged between Rome and Parthia — later Sassanid Persia — whose rulers had spent generations performing a careful balancing act between the two powers. By Gordian III's reign that act was effectively over. Rome had absorbed Osroene as a province under Caracalla in 214, yet the Abgarid dynasty was permitted to continue issuing civic bronze of this type, a hollow concession that ended permanently around 242 when the dynasty disappears from the record entirely.
SGI 3860 is among the final coinages attributable to this line — Abgar X Phraates is the likely issuing authority.