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Session Five - Tuesday, February 14th 10:00am PST
Enlargement
1536 Sicily, Entella. Punic Occupation. Silver Tetradrachm (16.05 g), ca. 345/38-320/15 BC
. Wreathed head of Arethusa right, wearing tri-
ple-pendant earring and necklace; in right field, thymiaterion.
Reverse:
Horse standing right before palm tree; to right, Nike flying left above cadu-
ceus, crowning horse; below, Punic
HB
. Jenkins 97 (O33/R88); SNG Lockett 1041 (same obv. die); SNG Lloyd 1622 (same obv. die).
Extremely
Rare - only one specimen from these dies cited by Jenkins.
Porosity on the reverse.
Extremely Fine / Fine
.
Estimate Value .............................................................................................................................................................................$800 - 900
From The Herbert & Aphrodite Rubin Collection; Ex Coin Galleries (16 November 1983), 171.
During the fourth century BC Entella was a settlement of Campanian mercenaries formerly employed by the Carthaginians, but they were turned
against their old paymasters by Dionysios I of Syracuse in 368/7 BC. The city remained opposed to the Carthaginians until 345/4 when it was
reclaimed by the Carthaginians. This coin was struck by the Carthaginian forces that briefly occupied the city after 345. The Carthaginians were
driven out of Entella for good by the Corinthian general Timoleon in 342/1.
Enlargement
1537 Sicily, Entella. Silver Tetradrachm (16.32 g), ca. 300-289 BC
. Siculo-Punic issue. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion' s skin headdress.
Reverse:
' MHMHNT below, horse' s head left; before, three pellets; behind, palm tree with fruits. Jenkins series 5a, 283 (O90/R232). Well struck
on a rough flan. Lightly toned.
Extremely Fine
.
Estimate Value ....................................................................................................................................................................... $1,500 - 2,000
The Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in 1980.
Enlargement
1538 Sicily, Gela. Silver Didrachm (8.33 g), ca. 490/85-480/75 BC
. Nude warrior on horseback galloping right, preparing to hurl javelin.
Reverse:
CE
A
, forepart of man-headed bull right, within circular incuse. Jenkins grp. Ie, 99 (O30/R54); SNG Lockett 756 (same obv. die). Uni-
form old cabinet tone.
Very Fine / Extremely Fine
.
Estimate Value .............................................................................................................................................................................$500 - 600
The reverse of this coin depicts the river-god Gelas in the form of a bearded man-faced bull. This peculiar form is derived from that of Acheloös,
the great river of Arkadia that was said to be the father of all rivers and who once fought Herakles. Recent study of the man-faced bull on Greek
coinage by N. Molinari and N. Sisci has led to the suggestion that the iconography was ultimately derived from Near Eastern deities and carried
west by mercenaries, many of whom returned to homes in Sicily and Italy after service in the East. This theory would explain the popularity of the
type in the region in the Archaic and Classical periods.