These decadrachms were almost certainly struck to pay Dionysius I's mercenary forces — Campanian, Iberian, and Greek soldiers who demanded hard coin and would accept nothing less. Dionysius was fighting a grinding series of wars against Carthage through much of this period, and large-denomination silver served the dual purpose of military payroll and political display. The dies were cut by the finest engravers of the ancient world, several of whom signed their work, a practice almost without parallel in Greek coinage.
The signed dies of Euainetos are the most celebrated among collectors, distinguishable from other hands in the series.
These decadrachms were almost certainly struck to pay Dionysius I's mercenary forces — Campanian, Iberian, and Greek soldiers who demanded hard coin and would accept nothing less. Dionysius was fighting a grinding series of wars against Carthage through much of this period, and large-denomination silver served the dual purpose of military payroll and political display. The dies were cut by the finest engravers of the ancient world, several of whom signed their work, a practice almost without parallel in Greek coinage.
The signed dies of Euainetos are the most celebrated among collectors, distinguishable from other hands in the series.