Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XX 29-30 Oct 2020
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Sicily, Gela AR Tetradrachm. Circa 420-415 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving slow biga to right; above, Nike flying to left, crowning charioteer; stork taking flight in exergue / Forepart of man-headed bull right, ΓEΛAΣ (retrograde) above. Jenkins, Gela - (O92/R183; unlisted die combination); cf. SNG ANS 92 (same rev. die) & 94 (same obv. die); HGC 2, 355-6. 17.44g, 28mm, 7h.
Extremely Rare. Good Extremely Fine; some unobtrusive die rust on obverse, a truly magnificent coin of incredible aesthetic appeal with perfect, lustrous surfaces and sound metal.
From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction III, 31 March 2012, lot 56 (hammer: £34,000);
Ex private English collection, privately purchased in Munich in December 2010.
While the tetradrachms of Gela normally display a heavily worn obverse die, this coin was, despite a lightly de-centred strike, minted from fresh dies, as evidenced by the very high level of detail present on the elegantly rendered exergual stork, viewed in the moment it impels itself from the ground, its wings poised to lift the bird skywards.
The city of Gela was jointly founded by colonists from Crete and Lindos, Rhodes, 45 years after the foundation of Syracuse, around 688 BC. The city took its name from the nearby river, which itself was given the appellation Gela on account of the icy coldness of its waters, the word gela meaning 'ice' in the languages of the Opici and Siculi, as it does in Latin.
Virgil applies the epithet 'immanis' to Gela, which some believe is in reference to the river, others the city. The latter is more correct, and is an allusion to the horned, man-headed bull depicted on their coinage which is a personification of the river Gela itself. This image of the river-god is derived from that of Achelous, the 'father of all rivers'.
Those who apply the epithet to the river make it signify 'cruel' or 'monstrous', and consider this a reference to the number of perilous whirlpools in its waters, whence Ovid remarks "Et te vorticibus non adeunde Gela" (Fasti, 4, 470) - "And you, Gela, whose whirlpools must not be approached".
This coin dates from the high period of die engraving at Gela. Though the prosperity of the city was severely diminished when Gelon removed a large part of its inhabitants to Syracuse, many inhabitants subsequently returned and the city regained a part of its power, until the Carthaginian destruction of Gela's colony Akragas forced the citizens to turn to Dionysios I of Syracuse for help. The latter delayed, and Gela was left to defend itself, wherein the inhabitants made a valiant defence with even the women toiling to repair the battered walls at night. At last Dionysios arrived to lift the siege, but following an initial defeat, he resolved to abandon the city and under cover of night he removed his army and the population of the city to Syracuse. The city thus fell to the Carthaginians and was thoroughly sacked, the spoils including a famous statue of Apollo which was carried away to Tyre.
Extremely Rare. Good Extremely Fine; some unobtrusive die rust on obverse, a truly magnificent coin of incredible aesthetic appeal with perfect, lustrous surfaces and sound metal.
From the Long Valley River Collection;
Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., Auction III, 31 March 2012, lot 56 (hammer: £34,000);
Ex private English collection, privately purchased in Munich in December 2010.
While the tetradrachms of Gela normally display a heavily worn obverse die, this coin was, despite a lightly de-centred strike, minted from fresh dies, as evidenced by the very high level of detail present on the elegantly rendered exergual stork, viewed in the moment it impels itself from the ground, its wings poised to lift the bird skywards.
The city of Gela was jointly founded by colonists from Crete and Lindos, Rhodes, 45 years after the foundation of Syracuse, around 688 BC. The city took its name from the nearby river, which itself was given the appellation Gela on account of the icy coldness of its waters, the word gela meaning 'ice' in the languages of the Opici and Siculi, as it does in Latin.
Virgil applies the epithet 'immanis' to Gela, which some believe is in reference to the river, others the city. The latter is more correct, and is an allusion to the horned, man-headed bull depicted on their coinage which is a personification of the river Gela itself. This image of the river-god is derived from that of Achelous, the 'father of all rivers'.
Those who apply the epithet to the river make it signify 'cruel' or 'monstrous', and consider this a reference to the number of perilous whirlpools in its waters, whence Ovid remarks "Et te vorticibus non adeunde Gela" (Fasti, 4, 470) - "And you, Gela, whose whirlpools must not be approached".
This coin dates from the high period of die engraving at Gela. Though the prosperity of the city was severely diminished when Gelon removed a large part of its inhabitants to Syracuse, many inhabitants subsequently returned and the city regained a part of its power, until the Carthaginian destruction of Gela's colony Akragas forced the citizens to turn to Dionysios I of Syracuse for help. The latter delayed, and Gela was left to defend itself, wherein the inhabitants made a valiant defence with even the women toiling to repair the battered walls at night. At last Dionysios arrived to lift the siege, but following an initial defeat, he resolved to abandon the city and under cover of night he removed his army and the population of the city to Syracuse. The city thus fell to the Carthaginians and was thoroughly sacked, the spoils including a famous statue of Apollo which was carried away to Tyre.