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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Messana |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 413 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Biga drawn by two mules advancing to right, guided by a draped female charioteer holding the reins; above the composition, Nike flies to the right crowning the charioteer with a wreath, rendered in high relief in the characteristic early classical style of Sicilian coinage. An olive branch is depicted in the exergue below the ground line. The scene is executed with remarkable naturalism, reflecting the high artistic standards of the Sicilian mint workshops of the late fifth century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ΜΕΣΣΑ-Ν-Ι-ΟΝ |
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| Additional information |
Messana's tetradrachms of this period were struck while the city navigated an increasingly dangerous position between Syracuse's expansionist ambitions and the approaching Athenian expedition. The fleet that Athens sent to Sicily in 415 BC — the disastrous Sicilian Expedition — changed everything for the Strait cities, and Messana's political allegiances shifted more than once before the campaign collapsed in 413.
The die references clustering around Caltabiano 494 suggest production concentrated in a relatively tight window, with output likely constrained by the disruptions of that period. Messana struck far fewer tetradrachms than Syracuse, and survivors with coherent die links are genuinely useful for reconstructing the sequence.