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Didrachm
| Issuer | Gela |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 420 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Nude horseman galloping to the right, depicted as a warrior wearing a Corinthian helmet and short chiton, his right arm raised and brandishing a spear overhead. Beneath the horse, a fallen enemy lies prostrate on the ground, rendered in fine relief with his shield visible beside him. The composition conveys dynamic martial energy characteristic of the Sicilian Greek die-cutting tradition of the late fifth century BC. The field is plain and unlettered, with no exergual line. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Youthful head of the river-god Gelas facing left, depicted with close-cropped hair bound by a taenia or fillet, rendered in the refined early classical style. The head is encircled by an olive wreath, whose branches frame the portrait on both sides of the field. Partial legend ΓΕΛΑΣ appears in Greek characters to the right of the portrait, identifying the eponymous deity of the city's founding river. The die work is of high artistic quality, consistent with the accomplished engravers active at Gela during this period. |
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| Additional information |
Gela's mint was among the most accomplished in the Greek West during the fifth century, but production was winding down sharply by the 420s — the city never fully recovered its minting momentum after the great Sicilian upheavals of the period, and issues from this terminal phase of the series are correspondingly scarce. The references clustering around Jenkins 463 place this piece within a tightly documented die study, which is the only reason attributions this precise are possible for coins of this era.