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Æ39 - Gordian III ΕΠΙ ΑΥΡ ΡΟΥΦΕΙΝΟΥ ΑΡΧ Α Τ Β ϹΑΡΔΙΑΝΩΝ Β ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ, ΖΕΥϹ ΛΥΔΙΟϹ
| Issuer | Sardes (Conventus of Sardis) |
|---|---|
| Year | 238-244 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 24.80 g |
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| Obverse description | Turreted, veiled, and draped bust of the Tyche of Sardis facing right, rendered in the provincial Greek style characteristic of the Lydian mint. The figure wears a mural crown (turreted headdress) symbolising the city's protective deity, with a veil draped over the head and garments falling in layered folds across the shoulders and chest. The bust is depicted in high relief against a flat field, surrounded by a beaded border. The encircling legend proclaims Sardis as the first metropolis of Asia, Lydia, and Greece. |
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| Obverse lettering | ΑϹΙΑϹ ΛΥΔΙΑϹ ΕΛΛΑΔΟϹ Α ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙϹ ϹΑΡΔΙϹ (Translation: of Asia, Lydia, and Greece, the first Metropolis, Sardis) |
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| Additional information |
The title ΝΕΩΚΟΡΩΝ — neokoros, "temple warden" — was fiercely contested among the cities of Asia Minor, and Sardis held it twice, as this coin's inscription explicitly advertises. The archon named in the legend, Aurelius Rufinus, is documented across several Sardian bronze issues of Gordian's reign, making him one of the better-attested civic magistrates in the city's numismatic record. The designation ΖΕΥΣ ΛΥΔΙΟΣ reflects a specifically Lydian cult identity for Zeus, distinct from the Panhellenic version — a pointed assertion of regional religious tradition at a moment when imperial cult pressure was intensifying across the province.