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Didrachm - Second Democracy
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 466 BC - 405 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Aegis depicted as a scaly or textured surface rendered in relief, filling the field of this diminutive flan. The design represents the divine shield or breastplate associated with Athena, consistent with the complementary iconographic program linking the obverse gorgoneion to the reverse aegis, as the gorgon's head was traditionally the central ornament of Athena's aegis. |
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| Mintage | ND (466 BC - 405 BC) |
| Additional information |
Syracuse's Second Democracy followed the expulsion of Thrasyboulos in 466 BC, ending the Deinomenid tyranny that had dominated the city for decades. Gold issues from this period are exceptional precisely because Syracuse's monetary economy ran overwhelmingly on silver — the Deinomenids had used gold coinage largely for extraordinary military payments, and the democracy inherited that tradition only sparingly. A piece this small almost certainly served as a fractional denomination within emergency or honorific contexts rather than everyday exchange.