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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Himera |
|---|---|
| Year | 420 BC - 410 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Litra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Quadriga driven at speed to the right by an armored charioteer holding the reins and a kentron, the four horses in vigorous gallop rendered with exceptional detail and energy. Above the scene, Nike flies to the right crowning the charioteer with a wreath. In the exergue below, a river-god or sea creature (ketos) reclines to the right, serving as a local emblem. The composition is executed in high relief in the finest Sicilian engraving tradition, reflecting the influence of the master engravers active at Himera in the late fifth century BC. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ΜΑΙ |
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| Additional information |
Himera's tetradrachms of this period were struck in the shadow of catastrophe. The city had survived a Carthaginian assault in 480 BC — the same year as Salamis, and likely coordinated with Xerxes' invasion of Greece — but it would not survive the second. In 408 BC, Hannibal Mago returned and razed Himera completely, massacring its population in revenge for his grandfather Hamilcar's defeat seven decades earlier. These coins were struck in the final years before that destruction, making them among the last products of a mint that simply ceased to exist.
No subsequent civic coinage from Himera exists. The mint died with the city.