Extremely Rare Himera Hemidrachm

212, Lot: 10. Estimate $300. Sold for $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SICILY, Himera. Circa 342/1-334 BC. AR Hemidrachm (16mm, 1.54 g, 4h). Head of Kronos right / Thunderbolt flanked by grain ear and eagle clasping a snake. Boehringer, “Himera Im IV. Jahrhundert v. Chr.” in Kraay-Morkholm Essays, pl. VIII, 14 (same dies); Leu 65 (21 May 1996), lot 75 (same dies); Triton I (2-3 December 1997), lot 227 (same dies). Near VF, toned, porous, slightly uneven strike. Extremely rare, one of only a few recorded specimens.

From the D. Alighieri Collection.

Boehringer points out that the type is based on the bronzes of Syracuse (pl. VIII, 15) and so must date to the middle of the 4th century BC and more specifically to the time of Timoleon (344-336 BC). Furthermore, as the Carthaginians would not have allowed any expression of independence by Himera prior to Timoleon's defeat of Carthage at the Krimissos River (342 or 341 BC), the coins must belong to the period following the battle.