Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
12 Litrai - Fifth Democracy
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 214 BC - 212 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 10.23 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena facing left, the goddess depicted with a single-pendant earring and necklace at the throat, the aegis draped across the shoulder. The crested Corinthian helmet is adorned with a coiled serpent on the bowl, a characteristic decorative element of Syracusan die-work of the Fifth Democracy period. The portrait is rendered in high relief in the accomplished Hellenistic engraving tradition associated with late Syracusan silver coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Syracuse's Fifth Democracy was the city's last gasp of self-governance before the Roman siege of 214–212 BC ended three centuries of Greek independence in Sicily. These coins were struck under the pressure of imminent military catastrophe — Marcellus had already encircled the city, and the famous defensive engines of Archimedes, who died during the eventual Roman sack, were the primary reason the siege dragged on for two years rather than weeks. Emergency silver issues of this period drew on whatever bullion reserves the treasury could mobilize.
The short production window of roughly two years makes die-linked survivors traceable across major collections.