Electrum 50 litrai of Syracuse, 3.66 g.
Title
Electrum 50 litrai of Syracuse, 3.66 g.
Creator
Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Date
c. 310-289 BCE
Description
Obverse: Head of Apollo to left, with long hair and laurel wreath; bow in right field.
Reverse: Tripod; ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ: of the Syracusans.
Style/Period: Early Hellenistic
This coin is another indication of the importance of the cult of Apollo at Syracuse. The head on the obverse is the same type as the head on the 100 litrai coin (see coin 91.038), but on the smaller coin the Syracusan ethnic has been transferred to the reverse. The tripod on the reverse is another attribute of Apollo; the priestess of his oracle at Delphi, the Pythia, sat in it to receive the god’s prophecies.
The date of this coin, like the date of the electrum 100 litrai, is uncertain, but a date at the end of the reign of the tyrant Agathokles seems most likely.
-- Kelly Swett Riordan, LU '93
Bibliography: G. K. Jenkins, “Electrum Coinage at Syracuse,” in Essays in Greek Coinage presented to Stanley Robinson, C. M. Kraay and G. K. Jenkins, eds. (Oxford 1968) 145-162.
The date of this coin, like the date of the electrum 100 litrai, is uncertain, but a date at the end of the reign of the tyrant Agathokles seems most likely.
-- Kelly Swett Riordan, LU '93
Bibliography: G. K. Jenkins, “Electrum Coinage at Syracuse,” in Essays in Greek Coinage presented to Stanley Robinson, C. M. Kraay and G. K. Jenkins, eds. (Oxford 1968) 145-162.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased in Münzen und Medaillen auction, July 11, 1978
Identifier
91.039
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Syracuse, Sicily, Italy, “Electrum 50 litrai of Syracuse, 3.66 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/356.