SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. AR Dekadrachm (36mm, 40.89 g, 7h). Reverse Signed by Euainetos. Struck circa 405-390 BC.

Electronic Auction 483
Lot: 91. Estimated: $ 2 000

Greek, Silver

Sold For $ 7 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. AR Dekadrachm (36mm, 40.89 g, 7h). Reverse Signed by Euainetos. Struck circa 405-390 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron in extended right hand and reins in left, driving fast quadriga left; above, Nike flying right, crowning charioteer with laurel wreath held in her extended hands; below heavy exergual line, [military harness], shield, greaves, cuirass, and crested Attic helmet, all connected by a horizontal spear; [AΘΛA below] / Head of Arethousa left, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple-pendant earring, and pearl necklace; Δ below chin, four swimming dolphins around, [EY-AINE along lower edge]. Gallatin dies R.XI/D.I; Scavino 32 (D9/R19); HGC 2, 1299; SNG ANS 371 (same rev. die); SNG Copenhagen 691 (same dies); BMC 174 (same rev. die); Dewing 902 (same dies); Gulbenkian 314 (same rev. die); Pozzi 614 (same dies); Rizzo pl. LIV, 4 (same dies). Lightly toned, corrosion and roughness, some cleaning marks. VF.

From the Judy Day Frink Collection.

The engraver Euainetos seems to have begun his series of signed dekadrachm dies a few years after Kimon; perhaps he began as an apprentice and “graduated” to master status. His dekadrachm design superseded that of Kimon and became a paradigm for coinage throughout the classical world. His Arethousa is less human and more divine than his predecessor’s vision. The wreath of grain ears woven into her hair symbolizes the agricultural bounty of Sicily. His racing chariot is the essence of action, almost photographically frozen in time, with the charging, rearing horses appearing to levitate above the ground line. The design was widely copied on later coinage of Syracuse, as well as by the Carthaginian forces in Sicily.

Closing Date and Time: 6 January 2021 at 10:30:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.