SICILY. Syracuse. Time of the Gamoroi or the First Democracy, circa 500-485 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 17.30 g, 8 h). ΣVRA Charioteer driving slow quadriga to right, holding reins with both hands; in exergue, leaf-like ornament. Rev. Head of Arethousa to left in incuse circle in the center of a swastika-shaped quadripartite incuse square. Boehringer 19 (V15/R8). HGC 2, 1302. Boston MFA 329 (same dies). Rizzo pl. XXXIV, 1 (same dies). SNG ANS 4 (same dies). Rare and attractively toned, a bold and impressive example of this beautiful early Syracusan issue. Minor deposits and with a few faint scratches, otherwise, good very fine.

This early tetradrachm ranks among the first coinages of Syracuse and can be dated to the era of the aristocratic Gamoroi or the city’s brief First Democracy - predating the rise of the Deinomenid dynasty. It marks the beginning of one of the most important numismatic traditions in the Greek world. The obverse already features the quadriga motif that would become characteristic of nearly all later Syracusan silver issues, rendered here with striking dynamism that reflects the technical sophistication and artistic ambition of these early coins. The reverse still retains an archaic quadratum incusum, at the center of which appears the head of Arethousa - the nymph associated with the spring of Ortygia. This early form, however, would soon give way to a fully developed reverse design, where Arethousa's head dominates the entire field, often surrounded by four playful dolphins. Notably, this coin served as a prototype for the slightly later tetradrachms of Olynthos, where the head of Arethousa was replaced by a flying eagle - testament to the wide-reaching influence of early Sicilian coin design.