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Onkia
| Issuer | Eryx (Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 409 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Onkia (1⁄12) |
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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 | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare male head facing right, rendered in the early Sicilian style with tightly curled hair arranged in dense locks framing the face. The portrait displays fine archaic features with a well-defined profile, prominent nose, and strong jawline. A dotted border encircles the design within the coin's field. The effigy is likely a local deity or hero associated with the city of Eryx, rendered with considerable artistry for a small bronze denomination. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Eryx occupied one of the most strategically contested hilltop sites in the ancient Mediterranean — a fortified city atop Monte San Giuliano in western Sicily, long disputed between Carthaginian and Greek spheres of influence. This issue dates to the years immediately preceding the Carthaginian offensive of 409 BC, which destroyed Selinus and Himera and fundamentally reordered power across the island. Whether this bronze was struck under Elymian civic authority or already under Punic pressure remains debated, but the timing places it squarely at the edge of that catastrophe.