SICILY, Akragas. Circa 485-480/78 BC. AR Didrachm (20mm, 8.81 g, 6h). Near EF.

CNG Feature Auction 133
Lot: 64. Estimated: $ 1 000

Greek, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 4 250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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SICILY, Akragas. Circa 485-480/78 BC. AR Didrachm (20mm, 8.81 g, 6h). Sea eagle standing left / Crab within incuse circle. Westermark, Coinage, Period I, Group III, 205 (O75/R131); Jenkins, Gela, Group III; HGC 2, 94; SNG ANS 944 (same dies); SNG Ashmolean 1658 (same dies). Toned, with some iridescence and underlying luster, patches of find patina, cleaning scratches. Near EF. Excellent depiction of a crab.

From the Filipe De Pina Collection. Ex Artemide XLII (12 December 2014), lot 43.

Akragas, Roman Agrigentum, was situated close to the southern coastline of Sicily midway between Gela and Selinos. Founded by colonists from Gela circa 580 BC, Akragas grew to become the second most important city on the island after Syracuse, deriving much of its wealth from the export of agricultural produce to Carthage, which lay about 200 miles to the west. Its coinage commenced in the closing years of the 6th century and principally consisted of silver didrachms down to about 440 BC, after which the tetradrachm became the principal denomination. The first series of tetradrachms, though, coincided with the last period of didrachms, with all featuring the same types that had persisted since the beginning of the city's coinage: on the obverse, an eagle, sacred to Olympian Zeus, to whom the city dedicated an immense temple, and a reverse with an overhead view of a crab, harvested from the sea as a delicacy in the region. After 440 BC, as with many of the coinages of the great Sicilian cities, the designs became more complex and artistic, with one or two eagles shown devouring a hare on the obverse, and a galloping quadriga ultimately replacing the crab on the reverse. In the final decade of the 5th century, as the artistry of it coinage reached its zenith, Akragas suffered the same fate as many of the other Greek cities of Sicily when it was stormed and sacked by the invading Carthaginians (406 BC). Though its coinage continued thereafter, the scale and beauty of its 5th century series were never attained again.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 133 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 15-16 September 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 133 – Session One – Lot 1-308 will be held Tuesday morning, 15 September 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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