Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Triton XXVIII – Sessions 1-4 . 109 Numistats ref: 672600
No match
Greek
Category
SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. AV Drachm – Hemistater (16.5mm, 4.27 g, 1h). Struck 269-263 or 217-215 BC. Head of Persephone left, wearing wreath of grain ears and necklace; cornucopia to right / Nike, wearing long chiton, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left, driving fast biga left; A below, IEPΩNOΣ in exergue. Carroccio 22 (D22/R28); BAR Issue 55; HGC 2, 1539; SNG Fitzwilliam 1388 (same dies); BMC 517 (same obv. die). Lustrous, tiny deposit on obverse, minor doubling on reverse. Superb EF. Struck from fresh dies. Among the finest known.
From the Gerald F. Borrmann (Northern California Gentleman) Collection, purchased from Frank Kovacs, December 2003.
Hieron II started life as the illegitimate son of a noble father, allegedly a distant descendant of the Syracusan tyrant Gelon I. Later legends claim Hieron was exposed as an infant, but swarms of bees fed him honey until his father, warned by an astrologer, came and rescued the boy. As a young man, he served as a mercenary soldier in the army of Pyrrhos of Epeiros. When his commander elected to abort his Sicilian expedition in 275 BC, Hieron stayed behind and convinced a cabal of fellow soldiers to choose him as leader and seize power in Syracuse. He went on to rule the city and much of Sicily, first as a military tyrant, later as an enlightened and successful king, for nearly 50 years. He is most famous as the king who patronized the brilliant polymath Archimedes in his “eureka!” discovery, the principle of displacement. Hieron’s coinage is widely varied, interesting, and in many ways inspired by that of his Hellenistic ally, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Description
From the Gerald F. Borrmann (Northern California Gentleman) Collection, purchased from Frank Kovacs, December 2003.
Hieron II started life as the illegitimate son of a noble father, allegedly a distant descendant of the Syracusan tyrant Gelon I. Later legends claim Hieron was exposed as an infant, but swarms of bees fed him honey until his father, warned by an astrologer, came and rescued the boy. As a young man, he served as a mercenary soldier in the army of Pyrrhos of Epeiros. When his commander elected to abort his Sicilian expedition in 275 BC, Hieron stayed behind and convinced a cabal of fellow soldiers to choose him as leader and seize power in Syracuse. He went on to rule the city and much of Sicily, first as a military tyrant, later as an enlightened and successful king, for nearly 50 years. He is most famous as the king who patronized the brilliant polymath Archimedes in his “eureka!” discovery, the principle of displacement. Hieron’s coinage is widely varied, interesting, and in many ways inspired by that of his Hellenistic ally, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. Description
fine
Grade
5752.5 EUR
Starting
9587.51 EUR
Estimate
EUR
Realized