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Dekadrachm - Agathokles
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 317 BC - 289 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Decadrachm (50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of a youthful male deity, most likely Apollo or a deified portrait of Agathokles, facing left. The hair is rendered in fine curling locks beneath a wreath of olive or laurel leaves, executed with remarkable three-dimensional relief characteristic of late Syracusan die-engraving. The features are idealized in the Hellenistic manner, with a strong profile, clearly defined brow, and finely modeled chin. No legend appears on the obverse field. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Agathokles seized power in Syracuse in 317 BC through a coup that reportedly involved massacring several thousand citizens in the assembly grounds. His subsequent war against Carthage was desperate enough that in 310 BC he reversed the entire strategic logic of the conflict by crossing into North Africa — the first time a Greek commander had carried war directly onto Carthaginian soil. The gold coinage of his reign funded these campaigns, and the sheer weight of this dekadrachm at 43 grams places it among the heaviest Greek gold issues ever produced for any city-state.
The SNG ANS and Copenhagen references for this type are rarely duplicated in private hands.