SICILY. Syracuse. Agathocles (317-289 BC), as King of Sicily. AV stater, octobol or double-decadrachm (17mm, 5.72 gm, 2h). Choice AU, Fine Style, repaired. 295-289 BC. Head of Athena right, hair tied with single band and upswept at temple, wearing pendant earring, necklace, and triple-crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head, long divergent crest ends, the bowl decorated with leaping griffin right / AΓAΘOKΛEOΣ / BAΣIΛEOΣ, winged thunderbolt, EY monogram below. HGC 2, 1535. SNG ANS 704. Expertly struck and centered on lustrous flan with areas of light orange toning. Evidence of repair in field, thus ineligible for encapsulation. From the Ed's Treasures Collection This beautiful stater falls into the late series of coins struck in the name of Agathocles, who first ruled Syracuse as a military strongman or "tyrant" and later styled himself "King of Sicily." In many ways, he was a western counterpart to the Hellenistic rulers who carved up Alexander the Great's vast empire to the east. The son of a simple potter, he joined the army and rose through the ranks to become a strategos or general. Ambitious, audacious, and unscrupulous, he was banished for attempting to overthrow the democratic government of Syracuse, but returned in 317 BC leading an army of mercenaries, seized the city, and banished or murdered all of his opponents. War with Carthage followed; with Syracuse under siege, he staged a daring attack on the African hinterlands of Carthage that turned the tide of war in his favor. Though ultimately defeated in Africa, Agathocles returned to Sicily strengthened and concluded a treaty with Carthage on favorable terms.

HID09801242017

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