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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Messana |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 408 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A biga of mules driven at walking pace to the left, depicted in fine relief with careful anatomical detail; the charioteer, clad in a long chiton, holds the reins with both hands and is crowned by a Nike flying above, who extends a wreath toward the victor. A small dolphin or sea creature appears in the exergue below the ground line, rendered in low relief, referencing the maritime character of the city. The composition closely follows the grand quadriga types of Syracuse while adapting the subject to Messana's celebrated mule-cart victories at the Panhellenic games. |
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| Reverse description | A bounding hare leaping to the right, depicted with vigorous naturalism above the laureate head of a local deity or nymph facing left in three-quarter profile, her hair elaborately dressed and bound with a wreath. The legend ΜΕΣΣΑΝΙΟΝ is distributed around the field in segments, framed by a dotted border. The juxtaposition of the leaping hare — an emblem of swiftness and fertility associated with the city — above the divine female head creates a compositionally dynamic and iconographically rich reverse typical of Sicilian coinage of the early Classical period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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