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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 4991000, member: 81887&quot;]I&#039;ve been busy lately and haven&#039;t posted any new purchases in a while, so I&#039;m now very far behind.&nbsp; If I&#039;m going to have everything posted before it&#039;s time for my Best of 2020, I&#039;d better try to catch up with the backlog, even if I don&#039;t have time for posts as long and detail-filled as I&#039;d prefer.&nbsp; So, without further ado...</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1198816[/ATTACH] </p><p>Sicily, Syracuse.&nbsp; Hieron II (275-215 BC).&nbsp; AE 27.&nbsp; Obverse: Diademed head of Heron II left.&nbsp; Reverse: Rearing horseman with spear right, in exergue &quot;IERONOS&quot; (details worn on this specimen).&nbsp; SNG ANS 923. This coin: Purchased from the late Don Zauche at the Baltimore coin show, November 2019.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hieron (also written as Hiero) II was born about 308 BC,&nbsp; the illegitimate son of a Syracuse nobleman. In 275 BC he was asked by the people of Syracuse to be the military commander of the city,<font size="4"> just in time as the Mamertines were now causing trouble.&nbsp; The Mamertines had started out as mercenary troops in Campania in southern Italy.&nbsp; A group of them, unemployed after their patron had died, captured the city of Messina in 289 BC and started using it as a base to conduct pirate raids on nearby cities and shipping.&nbsp; Hieron defeated the Mamertines in battle but was unable to capture Messina.&nbsp; Hiero was named king of Syracuse in 270 BC.&nbsp; In 264 BC,<font size="4"> he resumed </font>the attack on the Mamertines, who appealed t<font size="4">o </font>Rome </font><font size="4">for help.&nbsp; Hieron, in turn, r<font size="4">equested help from </font>the<font size="4"> Carthaginians.&nbsp; After inconclusive</font> fighting, which would prove the start of the First Punic War, Hieron reconsidered his choice of alliances and in 263 BC made a treaty with Rome, which guaranteed him territory in south-eastern and eastern Sicily.&nbsp; Hieron remained loyal to Rome, sending them men and supplies during the war, most importantly his large fleet.&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, the great mathematician and inventor Archimedes lived in Syracuse at that time, and is reported to have devised various machines for the defense of the city, including a huge crane that could lift enemy ships out of the water, and an array of highly polished shields that could focus sunlight to set enemy ships on fire.&nbsp; These stories, as well as the story of Archimedes running naked through the streets shouting &quot;eureka&quot; after discovering the Principle o<font size="4">f </font>Displacement wh<font size="4">i</font>le taking a bath, are likely exaggerated, but Archimedes definitely had a major influence on mathematics.&nbsp; Hieron II died in 215 BC, leaving the city in the hands of his 15-year-old grandson Hieronymus, who unwisely brok<font size="4">e </font>the alliance with Rome during the Second Punic War.</font></p><p><font size="4"><br /></font></p><p><font size="4">I bought this coin mainly for its connection to Archimedes, plus the fact that it comes from Sicily, where (most of) my ancestors come from.&nbsp; I purchased it from Don Zauche at the Baltimore coin show in November 2019.&nbsp; Sadly, he passed away the next month.&nbsp; His table was always a highlight of the Baltimore show for me, and I will miss him.&nbsp;&nbsp; Please post your coins of Syracuse, or whatever else is related.</font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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