Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 73. Estimate $7500.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $4500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. AV Drachm – 100 Litrai (4.27 g, 1h). Struck circa 269-263 or 217-215 BC. Head of Persephone left with long flowing hair, wearing wreath of grain ears and necklace; poppy to right / Charioteer, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left, driving fast biga right; [I]EPΩNOΣ in exergue. Carroccio 51 (D21/R24); BAR issue 55; SNG ANS -; SNG Lloyd -; SNG Ashmolean 2105; SNG München 1346 var. (symbol, same rev. die); Gulbenkian 352. Superb EF, lightly toned, minor edge marks from prior mount, tiny nick on reverse. Rare, this variety absent from most collections.

Ex Triton XI (8 January 2008), lot 71.

Hieron II was an enlightened ruler of Syracuse, a change the people of the city welcomed after the reigns of several despots. In 263 BC he signed a treaty with Rome recognizing him as king. Throughout his reign, Hieron made a calculated decision to strictly adhere to the treaty, recognizing that the power of Syracuse was no match for the growing power of Rome. His reign as ruler of Syracuse is particularly interesting because it spanned the first two Punic wars.