SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles. 317-289 BC. AV Stater - Double Dekadrachm (15mm, 5.69 g, 9h). Struck circa 304-289 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with a griffin /
AGAQOKLEOS BASILEOS, winged thunderbolt; T below. Bérend,
l'or pl. 9, 6 (same dies); SNG ANS 702 var. (letter on rev.); Gulbenkian 339 (same dies). Superb EF. Very rare with T on reverse.
From the Semon Lipcer Collection.
This issue is from a short-lived coinage known from six obverse and seven reverse dies with numerous interlinkings, which suggest a specific occasion for its striking. Three alternatives proposed are the assumption of the royal title by Agathokles in 304 BC, the marriage of his daughter to Pyrrhos of Epeiros in 297, or renewed preparations for war against Carthage, the last of which seems the most plausible.
