Super⭐Crab And Eagle. Sicily Akragas Didrachm. Rare Ancient Greek Coin
Item History & Price
Lovely Coin Purchased from ACM -coins (ancientcoins.market) Auction 255This is their description.
The scene is composed in a very lifelike manner, avoiding the temptation to idealize the animals, showing that the engravers were not only talented artists, but also carefully observant of nature. The reverse likely refers to Akragas’ increasing focus as a naval power. The fresh-water crab is a symbol of the Akragas river and an emblem of the city.
SICILY, Akragas.<...br>Circa 495-480/78 BC.
AR Didrachm (21mm, 8.29 g, 10h).
Obverse: Sea eagle standing right.
Reverse: Crab within shallow incuse circle.
Reference: Jenkins, Gela, Group III, pl. 37, 10–4 var. (symbol on rev.); HGC 2, 94.
Comments On This Specimen: Specimen on a Larger flan, Crab perfectly centered. Lightly gold tones, still has most of its find patina on reverse.
History: Karcinus was a Giant Crab which came in aid of Hydra in the battle with Heracles at Lerna. The hero Crushed him with his foot, but as reward for its services, Goddess Hera placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Cancer.
Akragas was a wealthy and powerful Greek state on the southern coast of Sicily, second only to Syracuse in importance. The city was famous for its lavish building projects, proudly displaying its wealth in the form of numerous massive temples, many of which still stand today.
The early designs of the coinage of Akragas remained consistent for nearly a century, depicting Zeus’ standing eagle on the obverse and a crab on the reverse. As their societies matured, the aristocratic rulers of Akragas and its surrounding cities became highly competitive, especially in horse races, but also in the artistic beauty of the coinage they produced, resulting in a flourishing numismatic arms race.
Around 415 BCE, a dramatic shift took place, reinvigorating all denominations of their coinage. The designs became much more intricate, and the new coins have been ranked as some of the most beautiful coinage ever produced, clearly the work of the finest Sicilian artists of the time.
It is clear that the same master engraver was involved with the production of the larger denomination coinages of Akragas as well, with this coin sharing many stylistic similarities with the famous Agrigentum dekadrachm and Skylla tetradrachm.
The scene is composed in a very lifelike manner, avoiding the temptation to idealize the animals, showing that the engravers were not only talented artists, but also carefully observant of nature. The reverse likely refers to Akragas’ increasing focus as a naval power. The fresh-water crab is a symbol of the Akragas river and an emblem of the city.
SICILY, Akragas.<...br>Circa 495-480/78 BC.
AR Didrachm (21mm, 8.29 g, 10h).
Obverse: Sea eagle standing right.
Reverse: Crab within shallow incuse circle.
Reference: Jenkins, Gela, Group III, pl. 37, 10–4 var. (symbol on rev.); HGC 2, 94.
Comments On This Specimen: Specimen on a Larger flan, Crab perfectly centered. Lightly gold tones, still has most of its find patina on reverse.
History: Karcinus was a Giant Crab which came in aid of Hydra in the battle with Heracles at Lerna. The hero Crushed him with his foot, but as reward for its services, Goddess Hera placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Cancer.
Akragas was a wealthy and powerful Greek state on the southern coast of Sicily, second only to Syracuse in importance. The city was famous for its lavish building projects, proudly displaying its wealth in the form of numerous massive temples, many of which still stand today.
The early designs of the coinage of Akragas remained consistent for nearly a century, depicting Zeus’ standing eagle on the obverse and a crab on the reverse. As their societies matured, the aristocratic rulers of Akragas and its surrounding cities became highly competitive, especially in horse races, but also in the artistic beauty of the coinage they produced, resulting in a flourishing numismatic arms race.
Around 415 BCE, a dramatic shift took place, reinvigorating all denominations of their coinage. The designs became much more intricate, and the new coins have been ranked as some of the most beautiful coinage ever produced, clearly the work of the finest Sicilian artists of the time.
It is clear that the same master engraver was involved with the production of the larger denomination coinages of Akragas as well, with this coin sharing many stylistic similarities with the famous Agrigentum dekadrachm and Skylla tetradrachm.