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Drachm
| Issuer | Stiela (Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 415 BC - 400 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The forepart of a man-headed bull striding to the left, rendered in robust relief with carefully articulated musculature and horns clearly delineated. The humanoid head faces left with naturalistic features, a hallmark type symbolizing a river deity — a motif common to Sikeliote coinage of this period. The Greek ethnic legend ΣTIA is inscribed above the device in large, well-spaced letters, identifying the issuing community of Stiela. The composition is bold and occupies the full flan, consistent with the coinage standards of interior Sicilian mints of the late fifth century BC. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΣTIA |
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| Additional information |
Stiela was a minor Sikeliot settlement whose independent coinage output was minimal and short-lived, almost certainly curtailed by the catastrophic reshaping of Sicilian politics following Athens' disastrous expedition of 415–413 BC. The annihilation of the Athenian fleet at Syracuse left a power vacuum that Carthage exploited aggressively, sweeping through western Sicily and eliminating or absorbing numerous smaller minting authorities before the century closed.
Fewer than a handful of specimens are recorded in major collections, with the Basel example serving as a primary reference point for attribution.