Catalog
25 Litrai The Sikeliotes
| Issuer | Morgantina |
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| Year | 214 BC - 213 BC |
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| Currency | Litra |
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| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Athena in right profile, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet. Two small pellets are positioned between the nape of the neck and the base of the crest, serving as a control mark. A vertical thunderbolt symbol appears in the far left field, outside the crest, functioning as an additional control or mint mark. The rendering reflects the fine Sicilian die-cutting tradition of the late third century BC. |
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| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Morgantina's defection to Carthage in 214 BC, following Rome's catastrophic defeat at Cannae two years prior, almost certainly prompted this emergency gold issue. The city needed to pay troops and demonstrate political commitment to the Carthaginian cause — precisely the circumstances that produce sudden, short-lived gold coinages. When Rome retook Morgantina in 211 BC, the Spanish mercenaries who had held it for Carthage were rewarded with the city itself. The coinage window was narrow, which accounts for the extreme rarity of surviving specimens.