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!

100 Litrai - Dionysios I

Issuer Syracuse
Year 405 BC - 400 BC
Type Log in to see details
Value Log in to see details
Currency Litra
Composition Log in to see details
Weight Log in to see details
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 Log in to see details
Obverse script Greek
Obverse lettering Log in to see details
Reverse description Log in to see details
Reverse script Greek
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

Dionysios I seized power in Syracuse in 405 BC during the chaos following the catastrophic Sicilian Expedition and the Carthaginian sack of Akragas — and this gold emission belongs to that turbulent founding moment of his tyranny. Gold coinage was exceptional for Syracuse; the city had long operated on a silver standard, and the decision to strike in gold almost certainly reflects emergency military financing, likely tied to the urgent fortification of the Epipolai plateau and the rapid expansion of his mercenary forces.

The SNG ANS and Jameson concordances confirm this as one of the rarer large-denomination gold issues of the western Greek world.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE