*Sublime Facing Heracles* Sicily, Selinus (ca. 410 BC) Silver Hemidrachm – Rare & The Finest Known

Description

Greek. Magna Graecia. Classical Period. Sicily, Selinus AR (Silver) hemidrachm. Struck ca. 410 BC. XF; quite rare and likely the finest known example of the issue. Struck during the peak of Sicilian numismatic art. Also struck just after the Athenian invasion of Sicily led by Alcibiades (415-413 BC), which ended in disaster and contributed to Athens's defeat in the Peloponnesian War. During the campaign, Selinus was one of the two main Sicilian cities, together with Syracuse, that stood firmly with Sparta and resisted the Athenian invasion.

Design: Head of Heracles facing, turned slightly left, wearing Nemean Lion skin headdress / Charioteer driving fast quadriga left, holding kentron and reins; selinon leaf above, name of city in Greek below

Reference: SNG ANS 713. HGC 2, 1228. Pozzi 1195.

Dimensions: 14 mm / 1.76 gm

Condition: XF; a transcendent facing portrait of Heracles in the finest Classical style. Rare and likely single the finest example in either public or private hands, and by quite a wide margin. Beautiful rainbow toning with cerulean, amber, and crimson hues.