Roman Provincial Coinage VII. 1: Province d'Asie. De Gordien Ier a Gordien III (238-244 AD) by Spoerri Butcher, M.

Roman Provincial Coinage VII. 1 Province d'Asie. De Gordien Ier a Gordien III (238-244 AD) by Marguerite Spoerri Butcher

Hardback,395 pages, 67 black and white plates, in French with a summary by Andrew Burnett and Preface by Michel Amandry. 

The British Museum Press|Bibliotheque Nationale de France

This volume of the Roman Provincial Coinage is devoted to the study of coinage struck within the province of Asia between 238 and 244, under the reigns of Gordian III and his immediate predecessors, Gordian I, Gordian II, Pupien and Balbin. Within this province, seventy-three cities have conducted one or more monetary issues during this period. Only a few strikes are known for Gordian I, Pupien, Balbin and Gordian III César, in Miletus, Prymnessos and Hadrianopolis, the majority of the broadcasts being made in the name of Gordian III or his wife Tranquilline. To these, it is of course necessary to add many currencies without an imperial portrait. No coin has been struck with the effigy of Gordian II. Among these seventy-three cities are two Roman colonies: Alexandria de Troade (Colonia Augusta Troas or Troadensium) and Parium (Colonia Gemella Iulia Hadriana Pariana). Their emissions were analyzed side by side with those of the Greek cities.

This study, resolutely synchronic, offers the advantage of being able to compare the emissions of the different cities to each other (denomination, iconography, study of corners, volume of production, etc.). It has therefore been possible to highlight commonalities between these mints, or, on the contrary, differences. It goes without saying that such a synchronic approach entailed a major difficulty, namely that of not having a material for study for earlier or later periods in order to put every coinage in its historical evolution. This material is lacking insofar as CPP volumes III to VI have not yet been published. But despite this obstacle, it seemed necessary to publish this work, which includes a general synthesis (historical study), followed by a catalog of comments (numismatic study), to meet the expectations of all, researchers, collectors, professionals.