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Dichalkon - Syrakosioi
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 216 BC - 214 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of a youthful male deity, likely Arethusa or a young Herakles, facing right within a beaded border. The portrait displays fine Hellenistic workmanship with carefully rendered hair pulled back from the face. The bust is shown in profile with drapery visible at the truncation. The field is otherwise plain, with the beaded circular border framing the entire design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Large denomination mark 'XII' (twelve) prominently displayed in the central field, flanked by a bold X-shaped cross or saltire symbol to the left. The civic legend ΣYPAKOΣIOI is inscribed around the periphery, identifying the issuing authority as the Syracusans. A small letter K appears below the central numeral, likely serving as a control mark or secondary value indicator. The design is characteristic of the late Hieronymos-era civic bronze coinage of Syracuse. |
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| Additional information |
These tiny bronzes were struck in the final years of Syracuse as an independent power, falling squarely within the Second Punic War period when Hannibal's victory at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC had shaken Roman dominance of the Italian peninsula. After the death of the pro-Roman king Hiero II in 215 BC, his successor Hieronymus almost immediately defected to the Carthaginian alliance — a political reversal that made these coins among the last issues produced before Rome besieged and sacked the city in 212 BC, ending five centuries of Syracusan autonomy.