| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 664 Price realized: 5,500 CHF (Approx. 6,252 USD / 5,806 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. 60 Litrai or Dekadrachm (Gold, 15 mm, 4.30 g, 6 h), 269-263 or 218/7-215. Head of Persephone to left, wearing wreath of grain ears, pendant earring and pearl necklace; behind, cornucopiae. Rev. IEPΩΝΟΣ Nike driving fast biga to right, holding reins in her left hand and kentron in her right; below, pellet. BMC 508 (same dies). BMFA 474 (same dies). Carroccio 6 (D5/R4). Fresh and lustrous, and of beautiful full Hellenistic style. The usual light die rust and with a few tiny scrapes, otherwise, good extremely fine. Ex Leu Web Auction 18, 19-21 December 2021, 197, and previously from a Swiss collection, formed before 2011. Hieron II was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan aristocrat who assumed power in his home city after Pyrrhos of Epirus withdrew from Sicily in 275 BC. As a skilled politician, he switched sides at the right time early in the 1st Punic War and allied himself with Rome - a clever move that safeguarded his kingship for the rest of his very long life. Hieron was over ninety years old when he passed away in 215 BC, making his reign one of the longest of any ancient king. Impressed by Hannibal's early victories in the 2nd Punic War, the Syracusans broke their long-lasting alliance with Rome soon after, a miscalculation that eventually resulted in the capture and plundering of their city by Roman forces in 212 BC, during which Archimedes, the most famous mathematician of antiquity and a personal friend of Hieron, was slain by a Roman soldier. Starting price: 1500 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Nomos AG > obolos 30 | Auction date: 17 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 124 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. Trias (?) (Bronze, 19.5 mm, 5.82 g, 9 h), circa 275-269. ΣΥPAKOΣIΩN Head of Kore to left, wearing wreath of grain, single-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. Bull butting to left; above club and M; in exergue, IE. BAR issue 53. CNS 192. SNG ANS 580-3 (Agathokles). Green patina. Rough areas on the reverse, otherwise, very fine. Ex Obolos 23, 12 June 2022, 177. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 83 Price realized: 75,000 USD (Approx. 68,693 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. AR 32 Litrai – Oktadrachm (33.5mm, 28.40 g, 12h). Struck circa 217-215 BC. Diademed head right; trident head to right / Nike, nude to waist, holding kentron in extended right hand and reins in left, driving fast biga right; E below, IEPΩNOΣ in exergue. CCO 3 (D2/R3); BAR Issue 64; HGC 2, 1545; Basel 531 (this coin). Lightly toned, underlying luster, some hairlines. EF. Very rare oktadrachm of Hieron II, one of four known with the trident symbol. From the Hydrologist Collection. Ex A. D. Moretti Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica 13, 8 October 1998), lot 531. Hieron II started life as the illegitimate son of a a noble father, allegedly a distant descendant of the Syracusan tyrant Gelon I. Later legends claim Hieron was exposed as an infant, but swarms of bees fed him honey until his father, warned by an astrologer, came and rescued the boy. As a young man, he served as a mercenary soldier in the army of Pyrrhos of Epeiros. When his commander elected to abort his Sicilian expedition in 275 BC, Hieron stayed behind and convinced a cabal of fellow soldiers to choose him as leader and seize power in Syracuse. He went on to rule the city and much of Sicily, first as a military tyrant, later as an enlightened and successful king, for nearly 50 years. He is most famous as the king who patronized the brilliant polymath Archimedes in his "eureka!" discovery, the principle of displacement. Hieron's coinage is widely varied, interesting, and in many ways inspired by that his Hellenistic ally, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt. The widely circulated silver 16-litra pieces depicting his aristocratic wife, Philistis, are clearly modeled on the veiled portraits of Ptolemaic queens. Much rarer is this exceptionally large and impressive silver coin, struck late in his reign, which depicts the diademed head of Hieron himself on the obverse and Nike driving a racing biga on the reverse. Although the type is often denominated as a 32 litra piece, its weight of about 28 grams (and presumed buying power) is the same as that of Ptolemaic oktadrachm. Estimate: 20000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Nomos AG > obolos 30 | Auction date: 17 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 123 Price realized: 25 CHF (Approx. 29 USD / 26 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. Trias (?) (Bronze, 18 mm, 5.75 g, 5 h), circa 275-269. ΣΥPAKOΣIΩN Head of Kore to left, wearing wreath of grain, single-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. Bull butting to left; above club and I; in exergue, IE. CNS 191-2. HGC 2, 1469. Attractive green patina. About very fine. Ex Obolos 23, 12 June 2022, 178. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 665 Price realized: 800 CHF (Approx. 909 USD / 845 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: SICILY. Syracuse. Hieron II, 275-215 BC. AE (Bronze, 27 mm, 18.17 g, 12 h), circa 230-215. Diademed head of Hieron II to left; to right, thunderbolt. Rev. ΙΕΡΩΝΟΣ Helmeted cavalryman riding horse prancing to right, holding couched lance with his right hand; below forelegs, monogram of AP. CNS II, 195 Ds 59 Rl 8. HGC 2, 1548. SNG Copenhagen 835. Perfectly centered, and with a portrait of fine style and a very old pedigree. Very light deposits, otherwise, good very fine. From the collection of the renowned Swiss architect Max Vogt (1925-2019), privately acquired from Schweizerische Kreditanstalt Monetarium on 7 May 1992, ex Rollin & Feuardent, 22-23 May 1908, 218 and Rollin & Feuardent, 20 June 1906, 569. Starting price: 250 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 557 | Auction date: 6 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 32 Price realized: 425 USD (Approx. 391 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. Æ Eighth Chalkon (19.5mm, 5.96 g, 5h). Struck circa 263-215 BC. Head of Persephone left, wearing wreath of grain ears; poppy head to right / Bull charging left; club and M above, IE in exergue. CNS 191 Ds89 R1 12; BAR Issue 53; HGC 2, 1469; Virzi 1910 (this coin). Green-brown surfaces. VF. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 510 (23 February 2022), lot 24; Edgar L. Owen Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 367, 27 January 2016), lot 98; Thomas Virzi Collection, 1910. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
