Sicily

Hieron II, Tyrant of Syracuse 275-215 BC

,  Superb Extremely Fine

Head of Persephone left with long flowing hair, head wreathed in grain ears. Charioteer driving biga left, holding reins in left hand. Carroccio 39; SNG ANS 265. Slight double striking on the reverse giving the charioteer a “ghostly” appearance.

The protector of Syracuse after the departure of Pyrrhus, Hieron was cited in The Prince by Machiavelli as an exceptionally virtuous man who rose to princehood from private station and was compared to Moses and Romulus. Archimedes discovered his famous principle of displacement when he helped Hieron prove that a goldsmith had cheated him when he made a gold votive crown for a temple.