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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Akragas |
|---|---|
| Year | 409 BC - 406 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A female charioteer, her robes billowing dramatically behind her, drives a fast-moving quadriga in full gallop to the right, the horses shown at the moment of turning. Nike flies left above the scene, descending to crown the charioteer with a wreath. In the exergue below, a crab is depicted swimming downward, serving as the civic emblem of Akragas. The composition is rendered in the high Classical style characteristic of the finest Sicilian coinage of the late fifth century BC. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
These final tetradrachms of Akragas were struck in the shadow of the Carthaginian invasion under Hannibal Mago and Himilco. In 406 BC, after a siege of eight months, the city was sacked and its population scattered — effectively ending one of the wealthiest Greek poleis in Sicily. Coins from this terminal emission were likely produced to fund the defense itself, and some examples are thought to have left the city in the hands of fleeing refugees rather than through normal commerce.
The brevity of the issue's production window and its violent terminus account for the type's relative scarcity today.