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Litra - Pyrrhus of Epirus
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 278 BC - 276 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Reverse description | Athena Promachos striding vigorously to the right in a dynamic martial pose, clad in a chiton and himation with finely engraved drapery folds, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet. Her right hand is raised and brandishes a thunderbolt, while her left arm is extended bearing a round shield. The Greek legend ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ appears to the left of the figure and ΠΥΡΡΑ (an abbreviated reference to Pyrrhus) to the right, identifying both the issuing city and the regent under whose authority the coin was struck. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ |
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| Additional information |
Pyrrhus seized Syracuse in 278 BC at the invitation of the Syracusans themselves, who were being strangled by Carthaginian forces in the west of Sicily. His two-year occupation of the mint produced a distinct coinage that abruptly ceased when he abandoned the island in 276 BC to answer renewed calls from southern Italy — a withdrawal the Syracusans reportedly watched with profound relief, having found his discipline brutal even by Hellenistic standards.
The CNS and HGC references place this type firmly within the reorganized Syracusan mint output under his administration, distinct from both the preceding Agathoclean issues and the Hiero II series that followed.