Sicily, Gela. Circa 465-460 BC. Tetradrachm

Sicily, Gela. Circa 465-460 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 27 mm, 17.30 g). Slow quadriga right, driven by charioteer holding reins and kentron; in background, column; in exergue, two dolphins. Rev. CΕΛΑS Forepart of the man-headed bull Gelas right. Jenkins, Gela, 203; SNG ANS 45 same obverse die and 47 same reverse die. Struck on a very broad flan, with light iridescent tone. Traces of overstriking, otherwise good very fine. Ex Roma Numismatics II, 2 October 2011, 70. A broad and attractive early classical tetradrachm of Gela, struck during the period of the city’s greatest prosperity in the first half of the fifth century BC. The obverse follows the familiar Sicilian agonistic type of the quadriga, here shown moving at a measured pace, with the charioteer holding both reins and kentron. The small column in the background and dolphins in the exergue add visual complexity and may allude to civic, agonistic, or local maritime associations. The reverse is the defining type of Gela: the forepart of the man-headed bull Gelas, the personification of the local river. This river-god type is among the most powerful and characteristic images in Sicilian numismatics, combining human intelligence and divine presence with the force of a bull. The ethnic CΕΛΑS names the city in its local form. The traces of overstriking are also noteworthy. Gela’s large silver coinage was sometimes produced over earlier coins, and visible undertype traces can add historical interest when not too distracting. With its broad flan, linked dies in SNG ANS, light tone, and clear river-god reverse, this is a desirable representative of Jenkins’ early classical series.