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Hemilitra
| Issuer | Uncertain Sicilian city |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 400 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Octopus displayed facing, with eight tentacles curling outward symmetrically across the field, rendered in high relief in the archaic Sicilian style. The body of the creature occupies the central field, with the tentacles extending to the coin's periphery. The surface shows characteristic die-hammered texture typical of fifth-century BC Sicilian bronze and silver coinage. No legend or inscription is present. The design is boldly conceived, consistent with the maritime iconographic repertoire common to coastal Sicilian mints of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Sixteen-rayed sunburst radiating outward from a raised central pellet, the rays rendered as elongated, slightly tapering strokes evenly distributed around the central boss. The design fills the entire field to the coin's irregular border, executed in a clean, geometric style characteristic of archaic Sicilian coinage. The rays alternate subtly in relief, creating a dynamic radial composition. No legend or inscription is present. This solar or stellar motif is a recurring reverse type on Sicilian litra fractions of the fifth century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Attribution of this piece remains genuinely contested. Several Sicilian mints produced fractional silver at this weight during the fifth century, and without a secure findspot or die-link to a signed series, confident assignment is impossible. The hemilitra — one-twelfth of a litra in the Sicilian reckoning — circulated alongside Greek and Punic commercial networks simultaneously, making provenance particularly difficult to establish for unattributed examples.