One of Two Known

Triton XX, Lot: 80. Estimate $30000. Sold for $35000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SICILY, Syracuse. Fifth Democracy. 214-212 BC. AR 8 Litrai (21mm, 6.79 g, 9h). Head of female left, wearing oak wreath, single-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; lit torch to right / Slow quadriga advancing left, kentron propped in empty chariot; XAP above, ΣYPAKOΣIΩN in exergue. Burnett, Enna –; BAR Issue 87 (this coin illustrated); HGC 2, 1415. Superb EF, attractive even gray tone with golden hues around the devices, slightly soft on high points of obverse. Extremely rare, only one other example known (NAC 46, lot 221 [realized 62,500 CHF] = Gorny & Mosch 146, lot 78).

Ex Numismatica Genevensis SA 5 (3 December 2008), lot 57; Athos D. Moretti Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica 25, 25 June 2003), lot 125; Giessener Münzhandlung 60 (5 October 1992), lot 74.

The Syracusan ruler Hieron II, a loyal ally of Rome, died in 215 BC while the Romans were locked in a life-and-death struggle with Hannibal of Carthage. Hieron’s son, Gelon, had predeceased him so the throne of Syracuse passed to his grandson, Hieronymos, a youth of only fifteen. The Carthaginian faction in Syracuse persuaded the new ruler to renounce the Roman alliance, which his grandfather had so steadfastly maintained, but this soon resulted in a revolution at Syracuse in which Hieronymos and all the members of his family perished. The young king had reigned for a mere thirteen months. Democratic government was reestablished, but the following year the Romans laid siege to the city, and it was sacked following its fall in 211, thus bringing to an end almost three centuries of Syracusan preeminence in the affairs of Greek Sicily.

The three-year period of the restored democracy saw a surprisingly large and varied output of coinage, all the more remarkable as the city was under siege by the Romans throughout most of this episode. The coinage was quite diverse in its denominations, and used all metals: gold, silver, and bronze. Gold is only known in 60 litrai, an extremely rare issue. In contrast, the Fifth Democracy silver is exceptionally diverse, with multiples of 2½, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16 litrai. The bronze also has multiple denominations. Throughout the series, the types featured nearly all of the deities who ever graced a Syracusan coin, perhaps in an attempt to appeal to as many of the Olympian gods as possible while the city was imperiled.