SICILY. Messana (as Zankle). Circa 500-493 BC. Drachm (Silver, 23 mm, 5.69 g, 3 h). DANK𐤋E Dolphin to left within the sickle-shaped harbor of the city. Rev. Nine-part design of raised and sunk squares and triangles; in the center, cockle shell. Boston MFA 285. Gielow Group 4, 67-8 var. (unlisted dies). HGC 2, 766. Rizzo pl. XXV, 4-5. SNG ANS 301-2. Nicely toned. Minor marks and with light scratches and edge bumps, otherwise, very fine.

When the Greek city of Zankle (meaning 'sickle') was founded in the 8th century BC on the site of an older Sicel settlement, it took its name from the shape of its harbor, which is sheltered from the open sea by a peninsula resembling a sickle. Although the city lacked agricultural hinterland, it still prospered due to its strategic location on the important strait between Sicily and Italy. Around 488 BC, however, Zankle was captured by Anaxilas, the tyrant of its rival city, Rhegion, located on the opposite side of the strait. Anaxilas settled Messenian colonists from the Peloponnese within its walls and renamed the city Messana