Sicily, Syracuse. Circa 375-345 BC. Litra

Sicily, Syracuse. Circa 375-345 BC. Litra (Bronze, 21 mm, 8.38 g). ΣYPA Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with wreath; flower stalk in right field. Rev. Bridled hippocamp swimming left. SNG ANS –, Calciati 44. Superb light green patina, with some minor encrustations. About extremely fine.

Privately purchased from Spink & Son, late 1990s, with original ticket enclosed.

A notably attractive example of this scarcer Syracusan bronze litra, distinguished from the related Athena/hippocamp issues by the flower stalk in the obverse field and by the heavier, broader module. The absence from SNG ANS is worth noting, since that collection is particularly strong in Sicilian bronze, and its omission suggests that the variety is not among the commoner forms of the series.

The issue belongs to the later phase of Syracusan bronze coinage before the rise of Timoleon, a period marked by political instability after the Dionysian monarchy and by continuing military pressure across eastern Sicily. Bronze coinage had by then become an important local medium, and Syracuse produced a range of substantial denominations that retained high artistic ambition despite their practical function in daily exchange.

The helmeted Athena type reflects the city’s militarized civic identity in the fourth century, while the bridled hippocamp is a particularly Syracusan choice, combining maritime imagery with controlled power. The bridle is a small but meaningful detail, suggesting not merely a sea creature but one mastered and directed, an image well suited to a city whose strength depended on cavalry, harbor control, and naval command. The old Spink provenance and original ticket add further collector interest, especially for a bronze preserved with such pleasing light green patina.