This genuine Ancient Roman bronze coin has
been mounted in a modern 18 karat gold
pendant and attached to a modern 14 karat gold
chain.
This ancient coin bearing the image of M.
Antonius Gordianus born in approximately 225
A.D., affords us a glimpse into the challenging
life and times of the Roman emperors. Reading
his name around the circumference of the coin,
we might think only of a distant opulence. But
this emperor's grandfather Gordian I, together
with his uncle Gordian II, both perished in a
revolt they staged against the emperor
Maximinus in 238 A.D. The senate, also in
opposition to Maximinus, established two co-
emperors, Balbinus and Pupienus, and it was they
who conveyed the title of Caesar to Gordian III.
The co-emperors were then murdered and
Gordian III was proclaimed Augustus by the
praetorian guard. Able at last to escape the
treacherous political manipulations of Rome, and
express his considerable military talents, in 244
ad. Gordian journeyed to the Persian east where
he enjoyed great initial success in an important
campaign. Treachery, however, had followed him
even to the battlefields. The praetorian prefect
Julius Phillipus had ambitions of his own, and
undermined the loyalty of the army. No longer
consigned either to anonymity or to a museum
vault, the coin is now surrounded with gold and
suspended from an elegant chain bold enough to
mirror the qualities of the courageous emperor
who quelled rebellions in distant lands centuries
ago.
- (FJ.5122)
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