Sicily, Syracuse. Hieronymos. 215-214 BC. AR 10 Litrae (8.34 gm). Diademed head left /
BASILEOS IERWNUMOU, winged thunderbolt; MI above. Holloway 6b (O5/R5); SNG ANS 1025-1026. Good VF, toned. $695.
The Syracusan ruler Hieron II, a loyal ally of Rome, died in 215 BC while the Romans were locked in a life-and-death struggle with Hannibal of Carthage. His son, Gelon, had predeceased him so the throne of Syracuse passed to his grandson, Hieronymos, a youth of only fifteen. The Carthaginian faction in Syracuse persuaded the new ruler to renounce the Roman alliance which his grandfather had so steadfastly maintained, but this soon resulted in a revolution at Syracuse in which Hieronymos and all the members of his family perished (214 BC). The young king had reigned for a mere thirteen months.
