SICILY. Syracuse. Agathocles (317-289 BC). AR tetradrachm (24mm, 16.92 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 1/5, smoothing. Pre-royal coinage, ca. 310-305 BC. Head of Persephone left, wreathed with grain ears, wearing triple-pendant earring and beaded necklace; three dolphins around, NK below neck truncation / ΣYPAKOΣIΩN, charioteer driving quadriga galloping left, reins in left hand, kentron in right; triskeles counterclockwise above, AN monogram in exergue. SNG ANS 637. HGC 2, 1348. Gorgeous obsidian toning with hints of baby blue haloing devices. This beautiful tetradrachm falls into the earlier series of coins struck under Agathocles, who 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 was able to conclude a treaty with Carthage on favorable terms. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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