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Æ37 - Gordian III ΗΡΑΚΛΕΩΤΑΝ ΠΟΝΤΩ
| Issuer | Heraclea Pontica (Bithynia and Pontus) |
|---|---|
| Year | 238-244 |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Reverse description | Heracles advancing to the right with head turned back to the left, nude but for the Nemean lion skin draped over his left arm, wielding his club in his right hand and leading the three-headed hound Cerberus. To the right, a female figure — tentatively identified as Pomona — stands or sits upon a cippus, holding an apple and ears of corn. To the left, a tree occupies the field. The scene alludes to the eleventh Labour of Heracles, with the city's eponymous hero as the dominant motif, emphasising Heraclea Pontica's mythological heritage. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΗΡΑΚΛΕΩΤΑΝ ΠΟΝΤΩ (Translation: of the Heracleans in Pontus) |
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| Additional information |
Heraclea Pontica maintained a remarkably tenacious civic coinage tradition under the Severans and their successors, continuing to strike large bronze provincials well into the reign of Gordian III while many neighboring cities had already abandoned the practice. The city's history as a Megarian colony and its identity as the birthplace of Heracles Ponticus gave its civic issues a distinct local pride that persisted even as the Roman provincial coinage system was winding down across Asia Minor.
Gordian III's reign saw the last substantial output from Heraclea's mint before provincial bronze coinage effectively ceased empire-wide around 253–260 AD under Gallienus.