Syracuse

Decadrachm signed work by Kimon circa 405-400, AR 32 mm, 43.16 g. Fast quadriga driven l. by female charioteer leaning forward with kentron in r. hand and holding reins in l.; above, Nike flying r. to crown her. Below exergual line, display of military harness set on two steps: shield and crested helmet, cuirass between graves. Below the cuirass, [AΘΛA]. Rev. ΣYRAKOΣIΩN Head of nymph Arethusa l., wearing earring with pendant and beaded necklace; her hair bound in a net behind and with a hair band inscribed ΚΙ over her forehead. Around, three dolphins, while a fourth makes dorsal contact with neck truncation. McClean 2733 (these dies). SNG Lloyd 1410 (these dies). Regling 7. Jongkees 7.
Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A spectacular portrait one of the finest of
series, the work of the most celebrated Sicilian master engraver, struck in high relief
on excellent metal. A wonderful old cabinet tone, almost invisible traces
of over-striking, otherwise extremely fine

Ex Florange & Ciani, 17/21 February 1925, 357; Nomos sale 10, 2015, 12 and NAC 96, 2016, America Collection, 1024 sales. From Henry de Nanteuil de la Norville Robert O. Ebert, the Spina and a Scandinavian private collection. From the Noto (Falconera) Hoard of 1908 (IGCH 2103).
As part of the late phase of the ongoing Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), in 415 BC the Athenians made the ill-fated decision to strike at the Peloponnesian grain supply and hopefully expand their empire by dispatching a naval expedition to Sicily. The primary target of the expedition was the conquest of Syracuse, the preeminent Dorian Greek city of the grain-producing island. Following an initial battle, the Syracusans endured a protracted siege that involved the construction of extensive wall networks by both besiegers and besieged. At last, after a series of Athenian tactical blunders, in September 415 BC, a Syracusan breakout resulted in the destruction and capture of the Athenian ships and the slaughter of much of the expeditionary force at the Assinarus River. The Syracusans had achieved a great victory over the Athenians. In the aftermath, Syracuse was flooded with silver from the sale of plunder taken from the Athenians and from the sale of captured Athenians and their allies into slavery. It is believed that the outpouring of new Syracusan silver coinage in the last decade of the fifth century BC were struck from all of this silver that came unexpectedly to Syracuse. At the same time that Syracusan victory and the silver plunder provided the means and opportunity for a new coinage, it also seems to have sparked a great outpouring of artistic genius and a clear pride in the expression of that genius. In this period, commonly known as the age of the signing artists, Syracusan engravers experimented and reached the pinnacle of their art, frequently signing their dies with their names. The present coin is the much sought after and fabulously desirable decadrachm of Syracuse with types engraved by the Syracusan master engraver known only by the name Kimon. Taking a large flan as his canvas, Kimon here reimagines the standard obverse type of Syracusan silver coinage in classical style. The old slow quadriga of the preceding coinage-inherited from the days of the Deinomenid tyranny-now appears hurling towards the finish line, presumably at the Olympic games, as the charioteer goads the horses to their limits and Nike appears to crown him with the laurels. A panoply of armour is depicted in the exergue and labelled in Greek to identify it as the athla (prizes), although here the usual label is off flan. While such prizes might be appropriate for the winner of a chariot race, one wonders whether there is not a touch of allegory intended in the type, considering the probable source of the silver. The chariot and charioteer may represent Syracuse as the victor in its recent contest with Athens while the prize panoply represents the spoils taken in that contest and used to finance the coinage. Kimon’s head of Arethusa on the reverse is universally applauded as a masterpiece of Greek numismatic art. The face is a paradigm of classical perfection framed by incredibly detailed treatment of the hair, the lotus blossom of the nymph’s earring, and the net that holds her hair in place. This die is especially important, as it is signed twice by Kimon: his initial K on the ampyx near her forehead and his full name KIMΩN on the body of the dolphin below her neck. Considering his signature also occurs in miniature letters on the exergual line on the obverse, we have a coin that the artist must have considered to be among his best creations.