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1/4 Stater - Agathocles
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 310 BC - 305 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Gold Stater (25) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing left, rendered in fine Sicilian style with long flowing hair swept back and gathered at the nape, the laurel wreath clearly articulated with individual leaves. The portrait displays the idealized Hellenistic treatment characteristic of Syracusan gold coinage of the Agathoclean period, with refined facial features, a straight nose, and parted lips. The flan fills the field to the edges, with no legend or border present on the obverse. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Agathocles seized power in Syracuse through a massacre of the oligarchic opposition in 317 BC, and his coinage consistently projected the image of a ruler with legitimate dynastic ambitions rather than a tyrant governing by force alone. This fractional gold issue falls within the years of his audacious invasion of Carthaginian territory in North Africa — a campaign launched in 310 BC specifically to relieve the Carthaginian siege of Syracuse by taking the war directly to the enemy's homeland. It was the first time a Greek army had landed on African soil in force.
Gold fractions of this type are genuinely scarce in the market. The HGC lists fewer than a handful of die combinations.