SICILY. Syracuse. Hieronymos, 215-214 BC. 10 Litrai (Silver, 24 mm, 8.43 g, 2 h). Diademed head of Hieronymos to left; behind, K. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - IEPΩNYMOY Winged thunderbolt; above, KI. Holloway 41q (this coin, O21/R33). SNG ANS 1029 (same dies). Beautifully toned and with a fine portrait. Very light die wear on the obverse, as is usual for this issue, and a few light marks on the cheek, otherwise, extremely fine.


When the aged Hieron II died in early 215 BC, he had outlived his son Gelon and was therefore succeeded by his fifteen-year-old grandson Hieronymos. The juvenile king faced a critical political situation, as Rome, Hieron's longstanding ally, suffered a series of military defeats by the Carthaginian general Hannibal and ostensibly seemed in decline. The disastrous Battle of Cannae in 216 BC in particular shook Rome's might to the very foundations: never before in its history had it assembled a larger army, but once again, Hannibal's military genius prevailed and left 50,000-70,000 Romans slain on the battlefield. In Syracuse, it quickly became apparent that the young king was merely a puppet in the hands of his uncles Andranodoros and Zoippos, who argued strongly in favor of an alliance with Carthage. Hieronymos sent embassies to negotiate with both Rome and Carthage, but when the latter readily promised all of Sicily to the King, Syracuse declared war upon the Roman Republic. However, the fifty-year alliance between Hieron II and Rome, which had been an era of peace and prosperity for Syracuse, had left behind a strong pro-Roman faction in the city, and Hieronymos was murdered in 214 after a short reign of thirteen months.