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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Syracuse |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 440 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Head of the nymph Arethusa in high relief facing right, hair bound in a beaded sakkos and adorned with a diadem of pearl dots, wearing a necklace; four dolphins swim in a circular arrangement around her portrait, framing the design within the coin's field. The legend ΣVRAKOΣION is inscribed among the dolphins, identifying the issuing city of Syracuse. The portraiture displays the refined, idealized style characteristic of Syracusan coinage in the second quarter of the fifth century BC. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
These tetradrachms belong to the so-called "pre-Demareteion" tradition of Syracusan coinage, struck during a period when Syracuse was consolidating its dominance over eastern Sicily following the decisive defeat of the Athenian expedition — though that catastrophe came later. The 450s and 440s were quieter decades politically, bracketed by the aftermath of Hieron I's tyranny and the restored democracy under which the mint continued operating with remarkable consistency.
The Boehringer sequence for this period documents incremental die progression across a tightly grouped series, and cross-referencing with the SNG ANS and BMC groupings confirms this piece falls within the mature phase of the series — before the explosion of signed engravers' work that would transform Syracusan coinage after 413.