Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction X 27 September 2015
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Sicily, Syracuse AR Didrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Gelon I, circa 490-485 BC. Nude rider on horseback right, leading a second horse on far side / Head of Arethusa right within thin linear circle, wearing hair-tie, earring and necklace, hair falling simply behind; ΣVRAQOΣION and four dolphins around. Boehringer 51 (V28/R34); SNG ANS 11 (these dies); Antikenmuseum Basel 429 (these dies); Rizzo pl. XXXIV, 16 (these dies); Jameson 745 (these dies); SNG Lloyd 1282 (these dies). 8.64g, 20mm, 1h.
Extremely Fine. Lustrous metal, lightly toned with vivid iridescent flashes. Very Rare.
From the Ambrose Collection;
Ex Giessener Münzhandlung 46, 30 October 1989, lot 36.
This beautiful archaic didrachm dates to the time of Gelon, Tyrant of Syracuse, under whom Syracuse expanded and prospered greatly both in economic and military terms. By forcing wealthy families of conquered cities to move to Syracuse, and by initiating grand civil building programmes, Syracuse soon became extraordinarily prosperous and the greatest Greek city in the west. Gelon's fortifications and formation of a powerful mercenary army ensure the safety of the city and indeed very probably all of Sicily. Upon the Carthaginian invasion of the island that coincided with the Persian assault on mainland Greece, Gelon led an army of 55,000 to Himera and the aid of his ally Theron, winning a decisive victory and keeping Sicily safe from Carthaginian invasion for the next seventy years.
While the didrachm denomination had been introduced at Syracuse shortly after 510 BC, with the denomination indicated by the number of horses on the obverse (2= didrachm; 4 = tetradrachm), it was not until the reign of Gelon that the Syracusan monetary system was expanded to include a comprehensive series of silver fractional denominations - the drachm, obol, pentonkion, and hexas.
Extremely Fine. Lustrous metal, lightly toned with vivid iridescent flashes. Very Rare.
From the Ambrose Collection;
Ex Giessener Münzhandlung 46, 30 October 1989, lot 36.
This beautiful archaic didrachm dates to the time of Gelon, Tyrant of Syracuse, under whom Syracuse expanded and prospered greatly both in economic and military terms. By forcing wealthy families of conquered cities to move to Syracuse, and by initiating grand civil building programmes, Syracuse soon became extraordinarily prosperous and the greatest Greek city in the west. Gelon's fortifications and formation of a powerful mercenary army ensure the safety of the city and indeed very probably all of Sicily. Upon the Carthaginian invasion of the island that coincided with the Persian assault on mainland Greece, Gelon led an army of 55,000 to Himera and the aid of his ally Theron, winning a decisive victory and keeping Sicily safe from Carthaginian invasion for the next seventy years.
While the didrachm denomination had been introduced at Syracuse shortly after 510 BC, with the denomination indicated by the number of horses on the obverse (2= didrachm; 4 = tetradrachm), it was not until the reign of Gelon that the Syracusan monetary system was expanded to include a comprehensive series of silver fractional denominations - the drachm, obol, pentonkion, and hexas.