Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 41 2 Dec 2017
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Sicily, Tyndaris Æ17. Roman rule, circa 254-210 BC. Helmeted bust of Athena right / ΤΥΝΔΑ[ΡΙΤ]ΑΝ, Hermes standing left, holding kerykeion and with fillet over left arm. SNG ANS -; SNG Morcom -; Calciati I, 13; SNG Copenhagen 952 corr. 3.17g, 17mm, 12h.
Near Extremely Fine. In good style, well struck and exceptionally well preserved. Extremely Rare, only two examples on CoinArchives.
Originally part of the territory of Abakainon, a city of the native Siculi, Tyndaris was separated from it by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysios when he founded the city in 396 BC, settling the Messenian exiles driven from their homes during the Peloponnesian War. At that time, Abakainon appears to have been a settlement of some considerable size but, as the new settlers opened their city to fresh citizens from other quarters it was quickly eclipsed by Tyndaris which became a thriving and important city.
In the First Punic War, despite the Roman fleet apparently almost making land at Tyndaris during the eponymous battle in 257 BC, the city remained allied to the Carthaginians until 254 after the fall of Panormos, when it expelled the Carthaginian garrison and joined the Roman alliance. Named by the original Messenian inhabitants after their native deities the 'Tyndariae' , the son and stepson of the king of Sparta Tyndaris who are more often known as the Dioscuri, it is fitting that under Roman rule the coinage should feature the brothers as a reverse type (cf. Calciati I, 18 & 22) and the city should continue to flourish.
Near Extremely Fine. In good style, well struck and exceptionally well preserved. Extremely Rare, only two examples on CoinArchives.
Originally part of the territory of Abakainon, a city of the native Siculi, Tyndaris was separated from it by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysios when he founded the city in 396 BC, settling the Messenian exiles driven from their homes during the Peloponnesian War. At that time, Abakainon appears to have been a settlement of some considerable size but, as the new settlers opened their city to fresh citizens from other quarters it was quickly eclipsed by Tyndaris which became a thriving and important city.
In the First Punic War, despite the Roman fleet apparently almost making land at Tyndaris during the eponymous battle in 257 BC, the city remained allied to the Carthaginians until 254 after the fall of Panormos, when it expelled the Carthaginian garrison and joined the Roman alliance. Named by the original Messenian inhabitants after their native deities the 'Tyndariae' , the son and stepson of the king of Sparta Tyndaris who are more often known as the Dioscuri, it is fitting that under Roman rule the coinage should feature the brothers as a reverse type (cf. Calciati I, 18 & 22) and the city should continue to flourish.