I realized that I have a few of these little gems, the Litra. However, when I read more about them, they are a very interesting denomination: WIKIPEDIA: A litra (plural: litrae; Ancient Greek: λίτρα) is a small silver coin (or unit of measurement for other precious metals) used in the colonies of Ancient Greece in general and in ancient Sicily in particular. As a coin, the litra was similar in value to the obol[1] and weighed one-third of a Roman libra, i.e. 109.15 g (3.850 oz).[2] In silver, the coin weighed 0.87 g (0.031 oz) and was equal to one-fifth of a drachma.[2] Post your LITRAs, please! Here are a few of mine: CARTHAGE in Sicily Carthage - Sicily AR Litra 4th C BCE 9.5mm 0.65g Palm Tree Horse Head SNG Cop 74 EE Clain-Safanelli RARE SELINUS Sicily Sicily Selinus AR Litra 400 BCE 10mm 0.67g Nymph on rock touching serpent Selinon leaf - Man-faced bull Mildenberg 27 GELA Sicily Sicily Gela AR Litra Horse- Achelous 0.63g 13mm 465-450 BCE HGC 2 p 373 Post your LITRAs, please!
Sicily, Gela Coin: Silver Litra - Bearded horseman galloping left carrying spear & sheild CELAS - Forepart of Man-headed bull. Mint: Gela (430-425 BC) Wt./Size: 0.54g / - / References: Sear SG 797 Jenkins 405 BMC 52
A bronze litra: SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles. 317-289 BC. Æ Litra (23mm, 8.35 gm, 1h). Period 4, circa 295 BC. ΣΩTEIΡA, head of Artemis Soteria right, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace, quiver over shoulder / AΓAΘOKΛEOΣ BAΣIΛEOS, winged thunderbolt. Calciati II pg. 279, 142/25; SNG ANS 708; Favorito 34.
GELA, SICILY AR Litra OBV: Naked horseman galloping left holding spear & shield REV: Forepart of man-headed bull right Struck at Gela, Sicily, 425BC 0.36g; 13mm SNG Cop 275, BMC 52, Jenkins 405; HGC 2 374
WoWiE!!! Wonderful thread idea and coins Gandi! I'll add 3 sicilians to the fray: Sicily, Katane AR Litra. Circa 415/3-404 BC. Head of Silenos to left, wearing ivy wreath / ΚΑΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ Winged thunderbolt between two shields. Boehringer, Kataneische LI 6-7. Rizzo pl. XIV, 18 var. SNG ANS 1266. 0.71g, 10mm, 6h Sicily, Syracuse Deinomenid Dinasty (485-425), Litra, c. 470 BC, AR (g 0,78 mm 10), Laureate head of nymph Arethusa r., wearing earrings and necklace, dotted border, Rv. Σ-V-R-A, wheel with four spokes. Boehringer 402 SNG Copenhagen - SNG ANS 124-126. Rare
Great Litras, everyone! LOL on the meme, @Ryro ... I have SCADS of AE Litrae, thanks for busting a great one out, @PeteB ! ROMA RR AE Double Litra 235 BCE 19.5mm 6.54g Rome mint Hercules r club - Pegasus r club ROMA Cr 27-3 HN Italy 316 S 591 RR Anon AE Litra 230-226 BC Mars Club Galloping Horse Cr 27-2 S 596 RR Anon AE Double-Litra 275-270 BC Apollo Lion S 590 Cr 16-1a
Circa 410 BC. Hemilitron (3.21 gm; 18 mm x 14 mm). Head of Arethusa left, hair in ampyx and sphendone, in field right, laurel twig; whole in linear circle / ΣΥΡΑ Dolphin right, below, pecten. Calciati II, 55, 24. SNG ANS 418. Fixed
@Alegandron, that Carthaginian silver is enviously nice, as is the @Ryro Silenos. This Sicilian Litra isn't the prettiest of coins but it weighs in at 31.8 grams of bronze - does it even matter what it looks like? Sicily, Syracuse, Civic issue, Time of Timoleon, 344-336 B.C, AE litra Obv: [ΣYPA], head of Athena left in crested Corinthian helmet bound with olive wreath Rev: Starfish or 8-pointed star between two swimming dolphins
BRUTTIUM, Rhegion AR Litra. 0.57g, 9.2mm. BRUTTIUM, Rhegion, circa 480-462 BC. Anaxilas, tyrant. SNG Cop 1926; HGC 1, 1649 (R1); Sear Greek 497 (as obol). O: Hare leaping right. R: REC (retrograde). Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection SICILY, Abakainon AR Litra. 0.58g, 12.5mm. SICILY, Abakainon, circa 450-400 BC. HGC 2, 18. O: Bearded head with shaggy hair right. R: ABA, Boar standing left; acorn before.
2 small litras. Sicily, Syracuse, Litra, circa 470-450 BC. Sicily, Kamarina, Litra, circa 461-435 BC.
Lovely little coins, all! Some of these tiny bit of metal pack a surprising amount of artistic details. SICILY, Selinos Circa 410 BCE AR litra, 11mm, 0.76 g, 1h Obv: nymph seated left on rock, right hand raised above her head, extending her left hand to touch coiled serpent before her; selinon leaf above Rev: man-faced bull standing right; ΣEΛINONTIOΣ above; in exergue, fish right Ref: Potamikon, p. 116 figure 152 (this coin); HGC 2, 1229; SNG ANS 711–2 var. (ethnic); SNG Ashmolean 1904–5; SNG Lloyd 1270 var. (same); Basel –; Dewing –; Rizzo pl. XXXIII, 6. Good VF, dark iridescent tone, some porosity. Rare. ex MoneyMuseum, Zurich; ex Leu 79 (31 October 2000), lot 404; ex Athos Moretti collection, #482, unpublished manuscript Must be losing my mind because I can't find pictures of another one I wanted to show. Recently I bought a Kamarina litra like the one shown by @IanG and swear I took pictures of it and a few others that arrived at the same time but I can't find the folder.
SICILY, Syracuse. Reign of Agathokles, c. 317-289 BC. AR 8-Litrai (6.85g). Head of Athena wearing Corinthian helmet left / Pegasus flying left, triskeles below. SNG ANS 684. A fascinating aspect of this coin is it's remarkable similarity to the well known Corinthian Staters from the same era. Like their modern descendants, ancient minters knew a good thing when they saw on it, and if they could improve upon the design all the better. What distinguishes this piece from the Corinth issues is the presence of the Sicilian "Triskeles" on the reverse of the piece under Pegasus. This "Triskeles" is symbolic of the island of Sicily.
Sicily, Syracuse. Hiketas, 287-278 BC. Æ Litra (23mm, 9.15g, 2h). Struck circa 283-279 BC. Obv: ΔIOΣ EΛΛANIOY; Youthful head of Zeus Hellanios right. Rev: ΣYPAK-OΣIΩN; Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, with wings spread. Ref: CNS II, 167; SNG ANS 789-796; HGC 2, 1449.
I am a big fan of sicilian litrai! if I had to post them all, I would fill several pages of this discussion . here is a selection: Syracusa Rhegion Kamarina Zancle
Together with @AnYangMan, I own this 10 Litra: ... which I restored to this: as detailed in this thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/hi...ation-of-a-valuable-coin.365640/#post-4795730
Anonymous. Ca. 235-231 BC. Æ Half-Litra (12mm, 1.37 g, 7h). Rome mint. Obverse: Head of Roma or Minerva(?) right, wearing Phrygian helmet. Reverse: Dog standing right, left forepaw raised in pointing stance; ROMA in exergue. Reference: Crawford 26/4. Provenance: Heritage Auctions, Weekly auction 231923 (29 May 2019), Ex Goodman collection, Triton I (2 December 1997), lot 842; Ex Virgil Brand (1862-1926) collection, Part VII (Sotheby's , 25 October 1984, lot 478 (part of). Ex Niklovitz collection, Leo Hamburger (19 October 1925), lot 221.