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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ancientnut, post: 2473832, member: 73212&quot;]I am pleased to have finally added a tetradrachm of this difficult city to the collection. This coin had been listed by ArtAncient of London on their site and on VCoins for several months. I made an offer and they accepted it.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]520969[/ATTACH]</p><p>Kamarina, Sicily, AR tetradrachm, 425-405 BC, 26 mm, 17.40 g. OBV: Athena driving galloping quadriga left, holding reins in both hands; Nike flying above and placing open wreath on Athena&#039;s head, heron flying left in exergue / REV: KAMAPINA-ION (retrograde), bearded head of Herakles left, wearing lion&#039;s skin headdress. Westermark and Jenkins, 138 (O3/R8b - this coin listed as specimen 21 = Private collection Y); SNG Lloyd 864-865; Gulbenkian 172 (all from the same dies); Dewing 578 (same obverse die); BMC 2.10; Sear GC 758.</p><p><br /></p><p>From the William N. Rudman collection.</p><p>Ex: Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 378, April 28, 2004, lot 38.</p><p>Ex: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Triton V, January 16, 2002, lot 1175.</p><p>Ex: Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction H, April 30, 1998, lot 1142.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tetradrachms were struck in Kamarina only for the 20 year period from c 425 BC, when the city was at the height of its political power, until 405 BC, when Kamarina, as well as several other Sicilian cities, were destroyed by the Carthaginians. The city was eventually re-settled, but thereafter only rare silver drachms and bronze issues were produced. Kamarina stopped striking coins in its name c 300 BC.</p><p><br /></p><p>This example was struck fairly early in the series. It is from obverse die 3 (of 13) and reverse die 8 (of 21) and might be more accurately dated to c 420-415 BC. As was common at the time, the obverse die was paired with two reverse dies, then was re-cut and used with this and one other reverse die.</p><p><br /></p><p>The quadriga was a common obverse image on Greek coins of this period, especially in Sicily. Syracuse struck a huge number of tetradrachms with the device from c 510-278 BC. It also appears on the coins of Gela, Himera, Katane, Leontini, and many other cities. However, the quadriga on Kamarina tetradrachms in unusual in one respect. On the coins of other cities, the driver is usually an anonymous figure. On coins of Kamarina, the quadriga is driven by Athena, the goddess of the city. She wears an Attic helmet, usually crested, but on three dies, including the obverse of this coin, the helmet is crowned with a tall feather. Unfortunately, it is off the flan on this example.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although perhaps not as sophisticated in style as others of the type, I find the head of Herakles on the reverse to be curiously appealing. Westermark and Jenkins (page 52) describe it as</p><p><br /></p><p>“…of a vigorous style. The beard is untidy and the ear of a simplified shape. The nose is broad with a swelling tip…the eye is set under a curved frowning eyebrow which gives the head an energetic, intense look.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Post your coins of Kamarina!</p><p><br /></p><p>SOURCES:</p><p>Ulla Westermark and Kenneth Jenkins, The Coinage of Kamarina, London, 1980;</p><p>Hoover, Oliver D., Handbook of Coins of Sicily, 2012.</p><p>Special thanks to TIF for improving the photo![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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