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Onkia
| Issuer | Akragas (Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 406 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crab rendered in frontal view, depicted with great naturalistic detail typical of Akragantine coinage, with clearly articulated claws, legs, and carapace. A single pellet (onkia mark) appears prominently above the carapace between the raised claws, confirming the denomination. The composition fills the flan boldly, consistent with the artistic conventions of late fifth-century Sicilian bronze issues. The field around the crab is plain and unlettered. |
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| Mint | Agrigentum, Sicily, modern-day Agrigento, Italy |
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| Additional information |
Akragas in the late fifth century was one of the wealthiest cities in the Greek world — Pindar called its citizens the finest livers among mortals — and yet bronze coinage was a late and grudging addition to its monetary repertoire, introduced only as small-denomination silver became impractical for daily market transactions. This onkia, the smallest unit in the Sicilian bronze system, represents a fraction of the litra and circulated in a city whose silver output had been among the most prolific in the western Greek world.
The Carthaginian sack of 406 BC ended Akragantine minting abruptly, making this entire bronze series a compressed episode of roughly two decades.