SICILY. Messana under the Mamertinoi. 211-208 B.C. Æ pentonkion. 10.64 gm. 27 mm. Laureate head of Zeus right, club behind / Warrior advancing right, holding shield and spear; Π to right, ΜΑΜΕΡΤΙΝΩΝ to left. CNS I, 41. HGC 2, 853. Very Fine; attractive well struck portrait on a broad flan; glossy apple green patina with earthen highlights.

Zankle, named for its sickle-shaped natural harbor, was a settlement of great antiquity on the northeast tip of Sicily. It was renamed Messana by Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegion. In about 288 B.C. a force of Oscan mercenaries, the Mamertinoi, attacked Messana and massacred the inhabitants. They ruled the city until the Romans won the island in the Punic Wars.