GORDIAN III with TRANQUILLINA
AD 238-244
AE28. 13.23g, 28.4mm
MINTED: THRACE, Anchialus, circa AD 241-244
REF: Varbanov 739 (R5)
OBVERSE: AVT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ CEB TPANKVΛ/ΛEINA, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Gordian III right, facing diademed and draped bust of Tranquillina left.
REVERSE: OVΛΠIANΩN AΓXIAΛE/ΩN, Zeus standing left, nude, holding patera and long scepter.
 
Grade/Notes:
Fine/Almost Very Fine. Dark black patina. Rough surfaces.
Scarce. These types with the confronted busts of Gordian III and his wife Tranquillina are seen by some scholars as being special issues commemorating their marriage.
 
Historical Notes:
Anchialus, modern day Pomorie in southeastern Bulgaria, was a small settlement founded around the 5th century BC by Greek colonists from Apollonia.  It flourished under Roman rule, particularly during the rule of the Severan emperors, when it served as the Empire's trading hub in the province of Thrace.  From the mid 3rd century, the region suffered increasing incursions from barbarian tribes crossing the Danube, and in AD 270, Anchialus itself was sacked by an army of Goths under king Cannabaudes, who said to have been attracted to the city's restorative hot springs.