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12 1/2 Litrai - Agathocles
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 317 BC - 289 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.79 g |
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| Reverse description | A lyre depicted frontally and filling the field, its resonating body, two curved arms, crossbar, and multiple strings rendered in high relief with fine detail. The instrument is shown as if held, with the curved arms prominently displayed. The encircling Greek legend ΣYPAKO-ΣIΩN (of the Syracusans) is disposed in two groups around the periphery of the flan, flanking the central device, executed in clear, well-spaced capital letters characteristic of late fourth-century Syracusan coinage. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΣYPAKO-ΣIΩN |
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| Additional information |
Agathocles seized power in Syracuse in 317 BC through a coup that massacred several thousand of his political opponents in the assembly — the very year this denomination begins. His subsequent war against Carthage, which he audaciously carried onto African soil in 310 BC, created enormous demand for precious metal coinage to pay mercenaries. Electrum, an alloy occurring naturally in Lydian rivers but also produced artificially, allowed Syracuse to stretch its gold reserves during precisely these sustained military emergencies.
The 12½ litrai denomination is attested across only a narrow die corpus, reflected in the tight SNG ANS run of just three specimens.