SICILY. Katane. Circa 430-415 BC. Litra (Silver, 12 mm, 0.65 g, 6 h). Balding head of Silenos to right, with an animal ear and a long beard. Rev. ΚΑΤ-Α-ΝΑΙΩΝ Winged thunderbolt between two round shields. Boehringer, Kataneische, Series 3, Li5. HGC 2, 589. Mirone 85. Rizzo pl. XIV, 19. SNG ANS 1264. SNG Fitzwilliam 965. SNG Lloyd 911. A lovely example of extraordinarily fine style, attractively toned and very well struck on good metal free from the usual crystallization. A few faint marks, otherwise, extremely fine.



Katane is traditionally said to have been founded in 729 BC by settlers from nearby Naxos, making it one of the earliest Greek settlements in Sicily. The city’s Archaic and Classical coinage has long been celebrated as one of the finest series of Magna Graecia. Although Katane always remained overshadowed in both power and size by mighty Syracuse, it nevertheless appears to have attracted some of the finest artists working in Sicily, as the two superb litrai offered in this auction so clearly demonstrate.