The New York Sale
Auction 42 9 Jan 2018
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Sicily, Syracuse. Agathokles. Silver Tetradrachm (17.19 g), 317-289 BC. Struck ca. 317-310 BC. Wreathed head of Arethusa left, surrounded by three dolphins; below neck, ΦI. rev. [Σ]YPAKOΣIΩN in exergue, charioteer, holding goad and reins, driving galloping quadriga left; above, triskeles; in exergue, monogram. Ierardi 67 (O12/R43); SNG ANS 640-3. Lightly toned, Fine Style. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $2,500
From the Dionysus Collection.
Agathokles spent much of his early career struggling against the Syracusan oligarchy known as the Six Hundred. Fearing his personal wealth and popularity in the city, the Six Hundred sent him into exile, where he became a skilled mercenary commander. His new military strength and Carthaginian intervention paved the way for his return and appointment by the oligarchs as strategos autokrator ("supreme general"), but in 317/16 BC, he championed the cause of democracy (cynically as it turned out) and overthrew the Six Hundred. This coin was struck in the years following this coup and consciously looks back to older types used in democratic periods at Syracuse as a means of presenting a democratic façade while all real power was increasingly concentrated in the hands of Agathokles.
From the Dionysus Collection.
Agathokles spent much of his early career struggling against the Syracusan oligarchy known as the Six Hundred. Fearing his personal wealth and popularity in the city, the Six Hundred sent him into exile, where he became a skilled mercenary commander. His new military strength and Carthaginian intervention paved the way for his return and appointment by the oligarchs as strategos autokrator ("supreme general"), but in 317/16 BC, he championed the cause of democracy (cynically as it turned out) and overthrew the Six Hundred. This coin was struck in the years following this coup and consciously looks back to older types used in democratic periods at Syracuse as a means of presenting a democratic façade while all real power was increasingly concentrated in the hands of Agathokles.