SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysius I (405-370 BC). AR decadrachm (36mm, 42.80 gm, 7h). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Reverse die signed by Euainetos, ca. 400 BC. Racing quadriga driven left by charioteer, reins in left hand, kentron in right; Nike flying right in field above to crown him, military arms, including aspis (shield), greaves, cuirass, and crested Attic helmet, all joined by horizontal spear, ΑΘΛΑ ("prizes") below all in exergue, dotted border / ΣΥ-ΡΑ-Κ-ΟΣ-ΙΩΝ, head of Arethusa left, hair wreathed with barley ears, wearing triple pendant earring and beaded necklace; four dolphins swimming around, Δ below chin, EY-AINE (die-engraver's signature) below bottom dolphin. SNG Lloyd 1413 (same dies). Gallatin (DII/RIX). HGC 2, 1299. A simply beautiful example of this classic issue, struck on a broad flan in sound metal, with none of the usual obverse die rust. Appealing original surfaces with deep blue and purple "find patina" largely intact. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3046 CICF (14 April 2016), lot 29025; originally from the collection of a French connoisseur, later acquired by an American collector and displayed at the E. H. Merrin Gallery in New York City in 1985. Under the brutal but capable Tyrant Dionysius I (406-367 BC), Syracuse had become the wealthiest and most powerful city-state in the Greek world, and chose this moment to introduce the most extravagant coins yet seen -- the stunning series of signed silver decadrachms. These huge, impressive coins were struck to pay the Greek mercenaries who flooded Sicily to fight the expanding power of Carthage. The magnificent decadrachms of the master engraver Euainetos have become a paradigm for classical beauty in the 24 centuries since their creation. His Arethusa is the very ideal of feminine beauty, both human and divine, her hair interwoven with a wreath of barley ears symbolizing the agricultural bounty of Sicily. Likewise, the horses pulling his chariot seem to levitate above the ground line, perhaps preparing to draw the charioteer into the heavens themselves. HID09801242017 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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