SICILY. Syracuse. Deinomenid Tyranny, 485-466 B.C. AR Tetradrachm (17.09 gms), struck under Hieron I, ca. 478-475 B.C. CHOICE VERY FINE. HGC-2, 1307; Boehringer-231 (V103/R157). Obverse: Charioteer driving quadriga right; above, crowning Nike flying right; Reverse: Diademed head of Arethousa right; four dolphins around. A well-centered Tetradrachm of lovely archaic Syracusan style. The surfaces are deeply toned to a charcoal gray that complements to strong details. The coin does exhibit fine tooling and smoothing around its devices, visible under magnification, as well as a group of edge cuts on one side. For these reasons, NGC has declined to encapsulate the piece. Despite these drawbacks, this Tetradrachm remains rather attractive due to the quality of strike and only limited wear.
