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Litra
| Issuer | Messana |
|---|---|
| Year | 420 BC - 413 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Greek ethnic legend ΜΕΣ, an abbreviation for ΜΕΣΣΑΝΙΩΝ (of the Messanians), is boldly rendered in large archaic Greek characters at the centre of the field. The inscription is encircled by an olive wreath whose branches extend around the entire inner field, with individual leaves rendered in high relief. The overall composition is characteristic of the civic coinage of Messana in the late fifth century BC. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΜΕΣ |
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| Additional information |
Messana's coinage of this period reflects the city's precarious position between Syracusan ambition and Athenian interference. The litra, as the fundamental Sicilian silver unit, was the denomination through which local civic identity was most directly expressed — and Messana had particular reason to assert that identity during the 420s, when the Peace of Gela (424 BC) had only temporarily suppressed the inter-city rivalries that would eventually draw Athens into its catastrophic Sicilian Expedition of 415–413 BC. That expedition ended with Messana having refused the Athenians entry to its harbor, a decision that likely saved the city from the destruction visited upon Syracuse's enemies.