GORDIAN III
AD 238-244
AE25. 8.12g, 24.6mm
MINTED: MACEDONIA, Pella, circa AD 238-244
REF: Varbanov 3755 var. (reverse legend)
OBVERSE: IMP C M ANT GORDIANVS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
REVERSE: COL IVL AVG PLLA, Pan seated left on rocks with crook resting against it; right hand raised over his head, left arm resting on syrinx.
 
Grade/Notes:
Almost Very Fine. Green-brown patina, brassy at the high points.
Apparently an error on the part of the die engraver rendered the city name PLLA instead of PELLA on the reverse.
 
Historical Notes:
Pella, the largest city in the Macedonian Kingdom, was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.  It reached the height of its prosperity under Antigonus II Gonatas (277-239 BC).  When Perseus, the last Macedonian king, was defeated by the Romans in 168 BC, Pella was pillaged of much of its wealth and the kingdom was divded into four administrative districts.  Pella served as the capital of the third Meris (or district), but began a slow and steady decline in fortunes and importance.  It suffered heavy damage from an earthquake in AD 90, but continued to be inhabited into the 3rd century.  Lucian of Samosata, writing around AD 180, described it as "now insignificant, with very few inhabitants."