SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. 60 Litrai or Dekadrachm (Electrum, 15 mm, 4.30 g, 6 h), 269-263 or 218/7-215. Head of Persephone to left, wearing wreath of grain ears, pendant earring and pearl necklace; behind, cornucopiae. Rev. IEPΩΝΟΣ Nike driving fast biga to right, holding reins in her left hand and kentron in her right; below, pellet. BMC 508 (same dies). BMFA 474 (same dies). Carroccio 6 (D5/R4). Fresh and lustrous, and of beautiful full Hellenistic style. The usual light die rust and with a few tiny scrapes, otherwise, good extremely fine.


Hieron II was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan aristocrat who assumed power in his home city after Pyrrhos of Epirus withdrew from Sicily in 275 BC. As a skilled politician, he switched sides at the right time early in the 1st Punic War and allied himself with Rome - a clever move that safeguarded his kingship for the rest of his very long life. Hieron was over ninety years old when he passed away in 215 BC, making his reign one of the longest of any ancient king. Impressed by Hannibal's early victories in the 2nd Punic War, the Syracusans broke their long-lasting alliance with Rome soon after, a miscalculation that eventually resulted in the capture and plundering of their city by Roman forces in 212 BC, during which Archimedes, the most famous mathematician of antiquity and a personal friend of Hieron, was slain by a Roman soldier.