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Quadruple
| Issuer | Mamertinoi |
|---|---|
| Year | 288 BC - 278 BC |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Reverse description | An eagle with wings spread stands to the left upon a thunderbolt, rendered with bold, naturalistic detail in the Greek tradition. The bird's talons firmly grasp the shaft of the thunderbolt, which is depicted diagonally across the lower field. The ethnic legend ΜΑΜΕΡΤΙΝΩΝ is inscribed along the upper periphery of the coin, identifying the issuing community of the Mamertinoi. The composition reflects the strong Zeusian symbolism common to Sicilian and South Italian Greek bronzes of this period. |
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| Reverse lettering | ΜΑΜΕΡΤΙΝΩΝ |
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| Additional information |
The Mamertinoi were Oscan-speaking mercenaries — originally recruited from Campania by Agathocles of Syracuse — who seized the Sicilian city of Messana around 288 BC after their employer's death left them without pay or purpose. Their occupation of the city, and the coinage they struck there, represents one of the more audacious acts of military opportunism in the ancient Mediterranean world. This bronze issue belongs to the earliest phase of their independent authority at Messana, before their fateful appeal to Rome in 264 BC that helped trigger the First Punic War.