River God (Hipparis?) / Aphlaston

Obverse: Frontal head of youthful river god (Hipparis?) with long hair and horns
Reverse: Ship's stern (aphlaston) flanked by three pellets on each side (six pellets total indicating hemilitra denomination)

The obverse legend reading remains controversial among three renowned numismatists: Boehringer reads ΣΙΚΑ (SIKA), Manganaro reads ΣΙΧΙ.Α or ΣΙΧΑ (SIXIA or SIXA), while Salzmann reads AKIS retrograde. Interpretations vary - either a die cutter from Kamarina, the ethnic of the Sichaninoi/Ichaninoi who participated in the naval victory over the Athenians, or reference to a river. The reverse shows NIKA (Victory) retrograde and boustrophedon, with six pellets identifying the denomination as a hemilitra. The frontal depiction of the youthful river god Hipparis with horns and the aphlaston likely commemorate Kamarina's participation in naval victories.

Details

Numista Reference

Provenance