CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY
- Emperor:
- Time of Dionysios I
- Denomination:
- AE Hemilitron
- Composition:
- Bronze
- Date:
- Ca. 405 BC
- Obverse:
- head of nymph Arethusa facing left, hair bound with ampyx and sphendone, wearing hoop earring and wire necklace; all within linear border
- Reverse:
- wheel of four spokes; in the lower quarters, two dolphins; ΣY−PA in the upper quarters
- Reference:
- Calciati II 45, 19 fr 1; HGC 2 1479; SNG ANS -; SNG Cop -; SNG Munchen -; BMC Sicily -; SGCV I -
- Size:
- 15.4mm, 2.851g, 6h
- Province:
- Sicily, Syracuse
- Grade:
- VF, very rare, Arethusa portrait is of the finest style , well centred, nice brown toning, reverse not fully struck, some grainy surfaces
- Provenance:
- ex FORVM Ancient Coins (July 2017)
- Information:
- The finest style, an exemplary example of the numismatic art for which Syracuse is famous.
This coin is struck from a die of the finest style, possibly struck by the dies of one of the famous master-engravers. We know the master-engravers of Syracuse from their signatures on the gold and silver masterpieces. These master-engravers sometimes signed their bronze dies too. The obverse die of this coin closely matches the style of the Kimon signed die in Calciati however it is unsigned and has a necklace which does not appear on the Kimon signed die for this type.
I, Peter A. Piliouras of Ancient Coin Traders irrevocably guarantee for life to the Purchaser that this ancient coin is authentic. If this coin is deemed not to be authentic by a professional certification service, then I will refund to the Purchaser the full cost of acquiring the coin (including shipping) together with the certification fees.
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Signed: Peter Anthony Piliouras
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Date