Leu Numismatik AG
Auction 6 23 Oct 2020
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. 60 Litrai or Dekadrachm (Gold, 16 mm, 4.25 g, 2 h), circa 218/7-215. Head of Persephone to left, wearing wreath of grain ears, pendant earring and pearl necklace, and with her hair flowing loose; behind, hippocamp upward. Rev. IEPΩΝΟΣ Nike driving biga galloping to left, holding kentron in her right hand and reins in her left; below the horses, AΠ. Basel 529 (this coin). BMC 514 (same dies). Carroccio 41 (D11/R11). Gulbenkian 351 = Locker Lampson 108 (same dies). Light doubling on the reverse and with a minor scuff on the edge, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.
From the Kleinkunst Collection and from the collection of A. D. Moretti, Numismatica Ars Classica 13, 8 October 1998, 529.
Hieron II was an illegitimate son of a Syracusan aristocrat who assumed power in his home city after Pyrrhos of Epirus withdrew from Sicily in 275 BC. As a skilled politician, he switched sides at the right time early in the 1st Punic War and allied himself with Rome - a clever move that safeguarded his kingship for the rest of his very long life. Hieron died in 215 BC at the age of more than ninety years, after half a century of alliance with Rome and one of the longest reigns of any ancient king.
From the Kleinkunst Collection and from the collection of A. D. Moretti, Numismatica Ars Classica 13, 8 October 1998, 529.
Hieron II was an illegitimate son of a Syracusan aristocrat who assumed power in his home city after Pyrrhos of Epirus withdrew from Sicily in 275 BC. As a skilled politician, he switched sides at the right time early in the 1st Punic War and allied himself with Rome - a clever move that safeguarded his kingship for the rest of his very long life. Hieron died in 215 BC at the age of more than ninety years, after half a century of alliance with Rome and one of the longest reigns of any ancient king.