Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Messana |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC - 421 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (20) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The Nymph Messana, draped in a long chiton, drives a biga of mules walking to right, holding a whip in her right hand and the reins in both hands. Above the mules, Nike flies to right, extending a wreath to crown the victorious team. In the exergue, an olive twig with berry serves as a decorative ground line. The scene, rendered in the fine Sicilian engraving tradition, conveys ceremonial solemnity and civic pride. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A hare springs vigorously to right in high relief at the centre of the field, its musculature rendered with naturalistic precision characteristic of the finest Sicilian die-cutters of the late fifth century BC. Beneath the hare, a dolphin swims to right along the lower field, serving as a secondary emblem evoking the maritime identity of the city. The ethnic legend ΜΕΣΣΑΝΙΟΝ is disposed around the field, with individual letters placed in the spaces between the two main devices. A beaded border frames the entire design. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information | Log in to see details |