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Hemiobol Zancle, Samian occupation
| Issuer | Messana |
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| Year | 493 BC - 488 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Facing lion-head mascaron rendered in archaic style, depicted full face with prominent mane radiating symmetrically around the visage, open jaws, and deeply incised facial features. The mane is rendered with bold, flame-like striations fanning outward from the crown and sides of the head. The design fills the compact flan and is characteristic of the Samian occupation coinage of Zancle, reflecting strong eastern Greek artistic influence. |
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| Reverse description | A dolphin-prow galley (penteconter or warship) shown in profile to the right, with a prominent ram at the bow, oar-ports along the hull, and an aphlaston at the stern. Several pellets are scattered in the field, likely representing sea spray or serving as decorative fill elements. The design is enclosed within a dotted border and relates to the iconographic tradition of Zancle celebrating its maritime identity and harbor. |
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| Additional information |
After the Persian sack of Miletus in 494 BC, a large body of Samian refugees seized the Sicilian city of Zancle — displacing its original population with the encouragement of the Syracusan tyrant Anaxilas, who had his own designs on the strait. The city was renamed Messana shortly after. This hemiobol belongs to the compressed window between that seizure and the Samian community's own displacement, making its issuing authority a population that itself held the city for barely a decade.