http://www.coinweek.com/news/featur...rpieces-—-decadrachms-of-kimon-and-euainetos/ NGC Ancients: Ancient Masterpieces — Decadrachms of Kimon and Euainetos By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation on May 15, 2012 3:26 PM Posted by Josh Illingworth NGC Ancients This month, NGC Ancients examines the series of silver decadrachms struck at Syracuse (Sicily) in the fifth to fourth centuries B.C. During the time of Dionysius I (c.405-367 BC), a beautiful series of large silver coins were introduced at Syracuse, the chief city of Sicily. They are considered to be among the great artistic masterpieces of ancient coinage. These coins, called decadrachms, were equal to 10 drachms of the Attic weight standard (roughly 4.3 grams), and as such tend to weigh between 42 and 43 grams. For purposes of comparison, they are slightly larger, much thicker and about one and a half times as heavy as the US Morgan Dollar. The decadrachms of Syracuse were struck with dies prepared by master Sicilian engravers, pocket-sized examples of a pinnacle of ancient Greek art. Some engravers were proud enough of their work that they would occasionally sign their dies, a practice largely restricted to the Greeks. Two names in particular, those of Euainetos and Kimon, have been preserved through the millennia by their signatures on coins, including decadrachms. ...
