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Litra - Hiketas
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 287 BC - 278 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Litra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Zeus Hellanios facing left, rendered in the Hellenistic style with strong, idealized features. The deity is identified by the inscription ΔΙΟΣ ΕΛΛΑΝΙΟΥ appearing in the left field, denoting Zeus as protector of all Greeks. The portrait is boldly struck and occupies the central field of the flan. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΔΙΟΣ ΕΛΛΑΝΙΟΥ |
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| Additional information |
Hiketas ruled Syracuse as tyrant during one of the city's most turbulent decades, playing Carthage and the Epirote factions against each other before ultimately inviting Pyrrhus of Epirus into Sicily in 278 BC — the very year this issue ceases. His coinage served a pragmatic military economy, funding mercenaries and garrison troops rather than any civic ambition. The copper litra was the workhorse denomination of Sicilian bronze coinage, filling the gap left by scarcer silver in everyday transactions.