Watch List notes:

Sicily, Himera, silver tetradrachm, c. 472-465 BC, quadriga driven left with Nike flying above to crown the charioteer, rev., the nymph Himera wearing himation, standing left and holding patera over flaming altar; to right, a satyr standing in a basin, washing in water pouring from a lion-head spout, 17.68g, die axis 7.00, on a small, thick flan, tiny nick at rear leg of horse, good very fine, the figure of the nymph with exceptional definition. References: Gutmann/Schwabacher 3; BMC 31, same dies; Boston 252, same dies. Provenance: Charles Gillet collection (private catalogue, pl. 21, 430); Spink & Son Ltd., sold 6 December 1973; Hermann Robinow Collection; Morton & Eden 51, London, 24 October 2011, lot 34. Note: Located on the north coast of Sicily, Himera, was primarily settled by Chalkidians from Zancle and exiles from Syracuse (Thucydides vi.1.5). Around 480 bc it came under the rule of the Akragantine tyrant Theron who installed his son, Thrasyboulos as ruler in 476/5 (Diodoros xi 48.6-8). The Himerians sought relief from Syracuse and the tyranny of Akragas came to an end around 470, although a date of 466 has also been proposed (Barrett, pp. 23-35). This issue of tetradrachm is from the earliest period of Syracusan influence, and is one of the first to bear the city's new device of the nymph Himera sacrificing and the satyr bathing-an allusion to the nearby springs for which the city was renowned. (6000 - 8000 GBP)