Arethusa / Octopus
Syracuse (Sicily) - Litra
Description
Obverse: Head of Arethusa right, wearing simple pendant earring and with her hair in an ampyx; behind her head, dolphin swimming downwards to right.
Reverse: Octopus
A wonderful head of Arethusa. Additionally the engraver dared to fit the whole legend of ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ while generally on fractions they used the reduced legend of ΣΥΡΑ. Maybe the engraver was really proud of their work, and wanted to make sure it was certain to everyone where this coin came from. While that does sound nice, to caution - litrae are generally meant for local circulation within a polis, so the citizens of the Syracuse would know the name.
Details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Composition | Silver |
| Issuer | Syracuse |
| Ruling Authority | Second Democracy (466 BC - 405 BC) |
| Period of Issue | 415 BC - 405 BC |
| Weight | 0.59 g |
| Diameter | 10.5 mm |
| Orientation | ↑↑ 10h |
| Denomination | 1 Litra |
| Standard | Sicilian Litra |
| References | SNG ANS 5 #282,283,286,1378; Buceti #545 |
Provenance
| Location | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Collection of L. Mildenberg, assembled between 1950s and 1970s | 1950 - 1979 |
| France | "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions | - |
| Switzerland | Nomos AG, obolos 35 - Lot 1106 | Dec 15, 2024 |
| United States | Lelouch Collection | Current |