Twice the coins, twice the awesomeness

I was able to acquire not just one, but two bronze coins of Hieron II of Syracuse. It started with one of them, the top one. This one was a replacement coin for the Neapolis man-faced bull silver nomos I bought back in late December that ultimately never made it to me. This coin of Hieron looked like a pretty nice coin even though Greek Syracuse is not what I normally collect, with its large and impressive bust and cool cavalryman on the reverse. Throw in problem-free and I was sold, so the seller was more than kind enough to send it to me. Its actually been my newest favorite coin so far, with its details and its heft, and more often than not I've had it out on my desk to admire it.

By coincidence, only a few days after I got that one in the mail, guess what coin type shows up in a certain popular dealer's weekly auction. The Hieron II/horseman. I was open to adding another one to my collection eventually of course, but now I was really tempted to go for this particular coin. So I did, with no regrets.

Hieron II, Kingdom of Syracuse
Æ27
Obv: Laureate head of Hieron II left.
Rev: ΙΕΡΟΝΩΣ; Horseman galloping right, holding spear; below horse, Φ.
Mint: Syracuse
Date: 274-216 BC
Ref: HGC 2, 1547; CNS II 193







Hieron II (or Hiero), was born around 308 BC. He made a career in the military of Syracuse, becoming an officer under Pyrrhus, an adventurer and (briefly) Tyrant of Syracuse. After Pyrrhus left Sicily in 275 BC, Hieron was elected the commander of Syracusan forces pushed out of Syracuse by the civil authorities there. With the help of relatives, he and his forces were able to enter the city and carry out a successful coup. Soon after, Hieron married Philistis, an important Syracusan noblewoman, in order to further strengthen his position.



It was during this time that the Mamertines, a large grouping of Campanian mercenaries, bandits, and pirates, began to cause trouble from their base in Messana. Near Mylae in 265 BC, Hieron inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mamertines, and would have captured Messana and finished the threat for good had the Carthaginians not stepped in. Nevertheless, for his great victory, Hieron was made king of Syracuse by the citizens.



This conflict with the Mamertines became part of the power struggle between Rome and Carthage during this period, both of whom wanted Sicily for themselves. Hieron's victory resulted in the Carthaginians installing a garrison in Messana when the Mamertines asked both Carthage and Rome for help. The pirates soon came to dislike the Carthaginians, and appealed to Rome for its protection instead. The Romans obliged by invading Sicily. In turn, the Syracusans allied with the Carthaginians, and in 264 BC, the First Punic War began.



Hieron soon reconsidered his alliance with the Carthaginians, in the face of Roman successes, and in 263 BC the Syracusan king formed a treaty with the Roman Republic, in which it was guaranteed that Syracuse would assist Rome with men and supplies. This treaty Hieron kept to until his death.


(Archimedes)

During his long rule, Hieron helped to further strengthen and rebuild Syracuse, and he became a very popular ruler for the Syracusans. Among his contributions were his Altar to Zeus, a large Greek theatre, and Fort Euryalos. Hieron found a good friend in Archimedes, who often helped him with regards to military matters and other issues. One of these issues revolved around Hieron's suspicion that his goldsmith was cheating him out of the gold for his votive crown. He enlisted Archimedes's assistance to figure out if silver was being substituted instead, but without damaging the crown. Archimedes was taking a bath when he noticed that the water displaced when he got in. Using this to measure the density of the crown, he determined that indeed the crown actually had silver mixed into it. Archimedes was so excited when he discovered this that he immediately ran through the street naked and still wet, repeatedly shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!").


(Hieron's Altar of Zeus)

Hieron II, after a long reign of 55 years, died in 215 BC at 93 years old. Unfortunately things did not turn out well for his family and Syracuse after his death. Members of his family were killed, including his grandson, a few years later. The Second Punic War resulted in the conquest of Syracuse by the Romans, and the siege of the city also lead to the death of his friend Archimedes.

 

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Wow- two Greeks? Who are you and what have you done with ValiantKnight?

They're both delightful!

 

Excellent write up ValiantKnight, I learnt a lot that I did not know. Two very nice large bronzes with great detail, well done.

 

Love the posts and thread...and what a wonderful presentation!!

I'll add my 'Mamertine' of Messana bronze...

Ae-29mm of Mamertinoi in Messana on Sicily, 220-200 BC. Av. laureate. head of Zeus right; Rv. nude warrior standing right, holding spear and shield: 17.14gr. BMC 25ff., SNG Cop.

 

COOL FORAY into Sicily Mr @ValiantKnight ! I love the write up, and have always loved that history. Dovetails right into the Punic Wars. Also, those Mamertines had a lot of those nasty Samnites who loved to slug Rome whenever they could (until Sulla virtually wiped them out the latter part of the Social War in 88 BCE...

Hieron II:


Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-215 BCE AE20 Poseidon Trident Dolphin


Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-215 bust Hieron Horseman Lance


Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-269 BC AE 15 Persephone Bull RIGHT Rare


Sicily Syracuse Hieron II 275-269 BC AE 22 Persephone Bull LEFT
Ex: @TIF The Greatess

 

I think your Hieron II horseman used to live at my house too

 

Mamertines:


Sicily Mamertini 264-241 BCE AE Pentonkion Zeus Warrior Shield Spear Merc Samnites- Messana


Sicily Messana Mamertini 288-278 BCE AE 28 16-8g Ares - Bull Butting


Sicily Messana Mamertinoi 211-208 BCE AE Pentonkion Male Head Horseman


Sicily Mamertini 288-278 BCE AE Pentonkion Mars-Eagle Mercenary Samnites Messana

 

He's a buddy here!

I still love the two butting / opposing bulls from Hieron... my black one is the smaller issue (perhaps half denomination), of the Brown one you purveyed to me!

 

kool coins and write up. i do not now have any of Hieron to share, but he's on the list. i do have a Syracuse Pyrrhos

 

It is a good looking coin and large but comparison to most of its peers. Congratulations.

 

boy, he's made the rounds ain't he?

 

I have this Syracuse AE20, Head of Kore, crowned with ears of corn. rev. Bull butting left, club and M above, IE below.
Sold to me as Agathokles 317-289 BC, but looking at one of Alegandron's it could be Heiron II, does anyone know which one it is?

 

They seem to be filed under Hieron II now but maybe in the past they were attributed to Agathokles and some sellers carry over the old attribution? For example, look at this CNG listing (2012):


SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. Æ (20mm, 5.52 g, 7h). Struck circa 275-269 BC. Wreathed head of Kore left; poppy head behind / Bull butting left; above, club above M; IE in exergue. BAR issue 53; CNS 192; cf. SNG ANS 580-3 (Agathokles). Good VF, dark green patina.

 

SNG ANS assigned them to Agathokles. Current scholarship says Hieron II. It would seem to me that the IE in exergue is obvious: IEPΩNOΣ. See one of CNG's attributions here.

Edit: TIF beat me to it. Damn, that chick is fast.

 

Awesome coins and great write-up VK!

 

Thanks very much for clearing that up TIF,
John Anthony, it has been confusing me for quite awhile.

 

If you were to call any Sicilian coins common, it would be these Hieron II issues with the bust of Poseidon on the obverse and his trident on the reverse. If you can get one that's well-struck and reasonably clean, the trident detail is fabulous, with curlicue patterns between the prongs (to symbolize water I assume?) and dolphins swimming on either side. A really nice example, like this one, shows the king's name fully spelled out under the trident...

 

Nice write-up!! Here's Hieron II's wife:


Philistis, wife of Hieron II
AR 5 Litrae; 4.46 gm, 18.1 mm
Syracuse, Sicily, 270-230 B.C.E
Obv: Diademed and veiled head, l., palm branch behind.
Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑΣ ΦΙΛΙΣΤΙΔΟΣ, Nike driving biga to left, E (=5) in l. field.
Refs: SNG ANS-893; SNG III (Lockett)-1017; Forrer 196; Burnett pl. 4, 50.

 

That is an amazing find!

 

I'll post a coin that was minted by a Sicilian ruler 1300 years after Hieron, although the coin was struck in Mileto, Calabria. It is, however, quite apropos for various reasons, including the fact that it also shows a horseman. This is a rare trifollaro of Roger I. Hieron vanquished foreign invaders (Mamertines) from Syracuse. Roger I vanquished foreign invaders (Muslims) from all of Sicily. Although he treated the Muslims well, allowing them to keep their mosques and even utilizing them as militia, his conquest of Sicily and the subsequent Latin migration to the island marked the end of any substantial Islamic influence, not only in Sicily but throughout the Mediterranean.



ITALY, Normans in Calabria. Roger I. 1072-1101.
Æ Trifollaro. Mileto, c. 1098-1101.
Obv.: ROC ERIVS COME +S . Knight with triangular shield and conical helmet, holding flag on long pole, on horse standing left.
Rev.: + MARIA MATER DИI . Enthroned nimbate Virgin holding on lap Christ child, nimbate and in swaddling clothes right.
Reference: CNI XVIII pg. 287, 15; Biaggi 1583; MEC 14, 93; Sambon 876.