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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2089238, member: 57495&quot;]Here&#039;s my favorite coin from a 14-coin mixed lot purchased a few weeks ago.&nbsp; Only 6 coins were pictured, and this not being one of then, I was pleasantly surprised when a big, hefty Syracuse dilitron popped out of its envelope. </p><p><br /></p><p>It had a smattering of light BD that had to be dealt with, but the surface issues being what they are, I still think it&#039;s an incredible coin and certainly worth more than the $35 average per coin cost of the lot. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]390826[/ATTACH]</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>SICILY, Syracuse</b></p><p>Timoleon and the Third Democracy</p><p>Circa 336 - 317 BC</p><p>AE Dilitron</p><p>21.31g, 27mm</p><p>Calciati 80; SNG Cop 725</p><p>O: [ΖΕΥΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΟΣ], laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios left.</p><p>R: [ΣYPAKOΣIΩN], horse prancing left.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Zeus portrait was a revelation to me, as I haven&#039;t seen many Greek bronzes with this level of artistry.&nbsp; Some reading suggests that Timoleon, the Corinthian general who became the de facto master of Syracuse, brought with him highly skilled engravers from Corinth.&nbsp; He likely used them when he issued a new series of Syracusan coinage such as this dilitron, which shows a portrait of Zeus Eleutherios (Zeus the Liberator), a celebration of Timoleon&#039;s saving the city from the siege of Hiketas, the tyrant of Leontini, and his restoration of democratic government to Syracuse. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>If you have coins of Syracuse or with Zeus portraits you&#039;d like to show, let&#039;s see them! </b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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