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Onkia
| Issuer | Lipara |
|---|---|
| Year | 440 BC - 420 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Bearded head of Hephaistos facing right, wearing a conical pilos helmet, rendered in a bold archaic style with incised curling locks of hair and beard visible beneath the helmet's brim. The portrait is set within a dotted border (grenetis), with the figure occupying the majority of the flan. The modelling of the facial features is characteristic of Sicilian bronze coinage of the late fifth century BC, displaying a strong, characterful profile with a prominent nose and well-defined jaw. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Lipara — modern Lipari, largest of the Aeolian Islands — was a Cnidian Greek colony that operated with unusual autonomy in the western Mediterranean, funding itself partly through a state-organized system of piracy against Etruscan shipping. The city's bronze coinage, including this onkia, was among the earliest municipal bronze issues in the Greek west, predating the widespread adoption of bronze as a fiduciary currency on the mainland by several decades.
The CNS (Corpus Nummorum Siculorum) classification places this piece among a small, well-defined group. Liparan bronzes of this period are notoriously difficult to attribute with precision due to limited die studies.