Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 91 2 Dec 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm Fragment. Time of the Second Democracy, circa 420 BC. Signed by the unknown master 'A'. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving slow quadriga to right; above, Nike flying to left, crowning charioteer with wreath; c/m: male or female head facing slightly to left within oval incuse / Head of Arethusa to right, wearing hook earrings and necklace with lion-head pendant, hair enveloped in sakkos drawn together at top and decorated with a maeander pattern above chevrons and inscribed with a letter [A], four dolphins and Σ[ΥΡ]ΑΚΟ[ΣΙΟΝ] around. Boehringer 695 (V343/R474); SNG ANS 231 (same dies); HGC 2, 1322. 8.12g, 24mm, 12h.
Condition as seen. Very Rare.
From a private European collection.
It would have been difficult to die-match this fragment were it not for the highly distinctive die-break we find on the obverse (for another example, cf. CNG e232, 17). The obverse countermark was presumably applied after the coin was halved to revalidate it for circulation.
Despite being on the other half of the fragment, a reverse die-match confirms the die engraver signed the sakkos with an 'A'. The unknown individual was the very first master engraver to sign his dies at Syracuse, around 15 years before other masters such as Eumenos, Kimon and Euainetos began signing theirs. The striking quality and attentive craftsmanship of the coins struck during this period seems to be the diametric opposite to the state of affairs in Syracuse and Sicily more widely at the time. The period from which it dates falls roughly in the middle of what is known as the Second Democracy in Syracuse, which followed a particularly turbulent period of rule by the Deinomenid tyrants and was in turn succeeded by another sequence of cruel and unpleasant tyrants, the Dionysii. These unsettled politics did not, however, negatively impact the continuing developments being made in the artistry of Syracuse's coinage. Indeed it seems that the very fact that this period was dominated by warfare and rivalry with other city states, requiring huge sums to finance, meant that the die cutters had ample opportunity to experiment and refine their skill, resulting in some of the most exquisite example of numismatic art produced in the ancient world.
Condition as seen. Very Rare.
From a private European collection.
It would have been difficult to die-match this fragment were it not for the highly distinctive die-break we find on the obverse (for another example, cf. CNG e232, 17). The obverse countermark was presumably applied after the coin was halved to revalidate it for circulation.
Despite being on the other half of the fragment, a reverse die-match confirms the die engraver signed the sakkos with an 'A'. The unknown individual was the very first master engraver to sign his dies at Syracuse, around 15 years before other masters such as Eumenos, Kimon and Euainetos began signing theirs. The striking quality and attentive craftsmanship of the coins struck during this period seems to be the diametric opposite to the state of affairs in Syracuse and Sicily more widely at the time. The period from which it dates falls roughly in the middle of what is known as the Second Democracy in Syracuse, which followed a particularly turbulent period of rule by the Deinomenid tyrants and was in turn succeeded by another sequence of cruel and unpleasant tyrants, the Dionysii. These unsettled politics did not, however, negatively impact the continuing developments being made in the artistry of Syracuse's coinage. Indeed it seems that the very fact that this period was dominated by warfare and rivalry with other city states, requiring huge sums to finance, meant that the die cutters had ample opportunity to experiment and refine their skill, resulting in some of the most exquisite example of numismatic art produced in the ancient world.