Catalog
Hexas
| Issuer | Himera |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 409 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Nike, the winged goddess of victory, is depicted striding to the left in three-quarter view, her wings spread prominently behind her. She holds a wreath in her outstretched right hand and a palm branch or fillet in her left, with a small sphere or ball visible in the lower field before her. The legend ΙΜΕΡΑΙΟΝ is inscribed in Greek characters around the lower portion of the field, identifying the issuing city of Himera. The composition is framed by a raised border, and the style reflects the refined engraving characteristic of Sicilian civic bronzes of the late fifth century BC. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Himera's bronze coinage was among the earliest municipal bronze issues in the Greek West — a monetary experiment that most Sicilian cities were still resisting in the late fifth century. The hexas, worth two onkiai, occupied an awkward denominational slot that saw limited use in everyday exchange, which partly explains why so many examples survived without serious wear.
The city that struck this coin was obliterated by Carthage in 409 BC. The entire population was massacred or enslaved in retribution for Himera's role in the Carthaginian defeat of 480 BC — making this issue one of the last products of a mint that would never reopen.