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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     851447      [UNVERIFIED] Type:     Greek Region:     SICILY City:     Camarina Date Ruled:     Circa 425-405 BC Metal:     Silver Denomination:     Tetradrachm Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     BC Circa 425-405 Diameter:     25 mm Weight:     16.90 g Die Axis:     7 h Obverse Legend:     EΞAKEΣTIΔAΣ Obverse Description:     Athena driving galloping quadriga right, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left; above, Nike flying left, crowning her with filleted wreath; EΞAKEΣTIΔAΣ on exergual line; two amphorai in exergue Reverse Legend:     KAMAPINAION Reverse Description:     Head of Herakles left, wearing lion skin; KAMAPINAION before; all within shallow incuse circle Primary Reference:     Westermark & Jenkins 149.9 (O8/R15) = SNG Lockett 725 (this coin) Reference2:     Rizzo pl. V, 11 = BMC 14 Reference3:     SNG Lloyd 871 Reference4:     SNG ANS 1205; SNG Fitzwilliam 944; Boston MFA 260 = Warren 209; Pozzi 401; SNG Ashmolean 1699 (all from the same dies) Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=148750 Grade:     Good VF, toned, fine style. Notes:     From the J. Olphin Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 42 (29 May 1997), lot 117; Richard Cyril Lockett Collection (Greek Part I, Glendining’s, 25 October 1955), lot 605; Clarence Sweet Bement Collection (Naville VI, 28 January 1924), lot 351; Tom Virzi Collection (J. Hirsch XXXII, 14 November 1912), lot 31.Originally founded by settlers from Syracuse in 598 BC, Kamarina was dependent upon its relations with its mother-city for much of its history. A revolt in 553 BC left the city devastated and partly abandoned, until 492 BC, when the expansionist tyrant Hippokrates of Gela was granted the site in return for a peace treaty with Syracuse. Hippokrates re-founded the city a second time with groups of mercenaries from his many wars across Sicily, and Kamarina became a source for new recruits. It is believed that this is the time of the first coinage of Kamarina, with its martial design of a panoply of arms. The first period of coinage ended in 484 BC, when Hippokrates' successor Gelon forcibly relocated its residents to Syracuse. Kamarina was re-founded a third time in 461 BC, by settlers from Gela and, at least until the 420s BC, the city remained attached to its parent-city. During this period, Kamarina rebuilt its akropolis defenses, public buildings, and road system. At least one athlete from the city, Psaumis, was victorious at the Olympics, a feat celebrated in Pindar’s fourth and fifth Olympian odes. At the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, Kamarina did side with Athens, although a strong pro-Spartan faction remained in the city. During this period, the various Sicilian city-states engaged in maneuvers designed to achieve some balance between the Athenian and Spartan-Syracusan factions, both pro and con. In 427 BC, Laches, who had been sent from Athens with a fleet for the purpose of bringing Sicily into the war, tried to elicit the support of Kamarina with a naval treaty, but the stipulation that allowed for only one Athenian ship at a time, shows that Kamarina was less than enthusiastic about supporting Athens. During this period, Kamarina had taken Morgantina and in 424 BC, received legal right to it as part of a peace treaty with Gela. Two years later, along with Akragas, Kamarina gave Athens a favorable anti-Spartan response when it again tried to elicit support in Sicily. Between 422 BC and 415 BC, both Athens and Syracuse pressured Kamarina, who remained neutral for support. As Syracuse began to become the leading power on the island, when troops from Sparta arrived there in 413 BC, Kamarina offered 500 hoplites and 300 javelin throwers as support. Soon, however, the Athenian threat was replaced by one from Carthage who, between 409 BC and 405 BC, conquered or destroyed the cities of Selinos, Himera, Akragas, and Gela. While preparing for a defense of Gela and a potential attack on Kamarina, the Syracusans compelled the citizens of Kamarina to be evacuated to Syracuse. The city virtually ceased to exist until Timoleon re-founded it a fourth time in 399 BC.

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