Gela's bronze coinage of this period was struck under increasingly precarious circumstances. The city faced sustained pressure from Carthaginian forces advancing across Sicily throughout the early fourth century, a campaign that culminated in Gela's sack and near-total destruction in 405 BC — the likely terminus of this issue. The trionkion, valued at three unciae, belongs to a fractional bronze system that Sicilian mints developed with unusual sophistication compared to mainland Greek practice.
Gela was never rebuilt to its former prominence after 405 BC, which concentrates the entire production window of this type into roughly fifteen years.
Gela's bronze coinage of this period was struck under increasingly precarious circumstances. The city faced sustained pressure from Carthaginian forces advancing across Sicily throughout the early fourth century, a campaign that culminated in Gela's sack and near-total destruction in 405 BC — the likely terminus of this issue. The trionkion, valued at three unciae, belongs to a fractional bronze system that Sicilian mints developed with unusual sophistication compared to mainland Greek practice.
Gela was never rebuilt to its former prominence after 405 BC, which concentrates the entire production window of this type into roughly fifteen years.