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Didrachm
| Issuer | Segesta (Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 455 BC - 440 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Litra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A full bunch of grapes with detailed individual berries and a curling tendril, presented as the principal device in the field. The bunch is rendered with careful attention to volume and naturalistic detail, reflecting the high artistic standards of Sicilian coinage of the period. The design is framed between two concentric linear circles with a border of dots, emphasizing the formal, emblematic character of the type. |
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| Additional information |
Segesta was never a Greek city. The Elymians who inhabited it claimed descent from Trojan refugees, and their coins — struck in the Greek style using Greek die-cutters — were partly a diplomatic instrument aimed at Athenian and Spartan audiences. This issue falls within the period when Segesta was actively cultivating Athenian alliance against neighboring Selinus, a campaign that would eventually draw Athens into the catastrophic Sicilian Expedition of 415 BC.
The use of mercenary engravers from the broader Greek world gives Elymian coinage an aesthetic fluency that belies the city's non-Hellenic origins.