Syracuse, Sicily, replica of an ancient issue signed by Kimon, circa 405-400 BC., modern cast ca. 1850-1915 AD., Tetradrachm, cf. SNG ANS 288.

Syracuse, Sicily, replica of an ancient issue signed by Kimon, circa 405-400 BC., modern cast ca. 1850-1915 AD.,
Tetradrachm (ø 26-28 mm / 13,15 g), bronze, axes irregular alignment ↑↗ (ca. 50°), filed and smoothed edge with some remaining casting bubbles,
Obv.: , head of Arethusa facing three-quarters l., wearing pearl-shaped pendant and necklace over collier ornamented with pearls; hair flowing in loose tresses; across her forehead, ampyx, on which the signature [KIMΩN]. Around, two dolphins swimming among the locks and a snout of a third emerging from curls l. Above, outside dotted border, [APEΘ]OΣ[A].
Rev.: [ΣYPAK – OΣIΩN] , fast quadriga driven l. by chiton -clad charioteer, holding kentron and reins; above, Nike floating r., holding wreath to crown the charioteer. Beneath the two further horses, an overset column (meta); in exergue, ear of barley l.
For genuine coins cf. SNG ANS 288 ; - Dewing 846 ; AMB 473 ; - H. Cahn, Arethusa Soteira, in Essays Carson-Jenkins, 1 ; - C. Boehringer, The Ognina hoard, SNR 57, 1978, pl. 31, 298 ; - Tudeer 79-81 .

genuine silver issues show sharp details, ca. 16,8-17 g. silver, and no filed and smoothed edge with casting bubbles

Though the facing-head portrait eventually became familiar at Amphipolis, Larissa, Rhodes and Tarsus in the 4th and 3rd Centuries B.C., it seldom was attempted in the West. The few facing-head dies from Sicily are acknowledged masterpieces, including this phenomenal work of Kimon, whose Arethusa Soteira, became a model for artists throughout the Mediterranean. The richness of this artist’s work cannot be overstated, for the style and composition of this coin is essentially perfect. The details of the Arethusa’s portrait are richly engraved, with their impact being intensified by the playful dolphins that dart through the floating strands of hair in the surrounding water. Katherine Erhart, in her dissertation on facing head Greek coins, offers praise: “...the master-engraver Kimon created a facing head of the fountain nymph, which is easily the most beautiful coin of all time, one applauded by ancient die-engravers and modern critics alike. ... No other engraver before or since has so magnificently exploited the compositional potential of the small circular coin flan.” The combination of the obverse depicting ‘Arethusa the Saviour,’ a reverse dedicated to a victorious charioteer, and the innovative and remarkable quality of the dies, earmarks this as a commemorative issue. As such, it has been associated with the defeat of the Athenian fleet at Syracuse in 413 B.C. and with the good fate of the Syracusans in the otherwise devastating Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in 406/5 B.C. This issue broke with about a century of Syracusan tradition by using this portrait as the obverse rather than the reverse. This decision probably was rooted in practicality since the reverse die is more vulnerable as it absorbs the full energy of the hammer blow. Just a few years earlier one of the two facing-head reverse dies engraved by Eucleidas (Tudeer reverse die 37) developed a fatal crack beneath Athena’s chin that widened with each successive strike. This must have guided Kimon’s decision. However, after Kimon’s ambitious facing-head the portrait on tetradrachms at Syracuse returned to being shown in profile on the reverse die. Indeed, it was not until Agathocles revived the tetradrachm at Syracuse toward the end of the 4th Century that the head became the obverse, in keeping with other Greek mints of the era. Kimon’s work for this issue consists of two obverse and two reverse dies. Both obverses were used with both reverses, and none of the four dies was used with any other die – all further evidence that this was a stand-alone series made for a special occasion. Considering the effort expended by Kimon, it is worth commenting on the relative merits of his four dies, three of which he signed. Both obverse dies are masterful and unique creations, but if the more accomplished must be chosen it would be Tudeer’s die 28, the one used to strike this coin. The portrait on that die is more mature and focused than the one of Tudeer 29, where Arethusa’s gaze is engaging, yet tentative. Both have equally playful arrangements of the dolphins, but on this die they are cut deeply and boldly, whereas on die 29 they are softly engraved, almost as if they were an afterthought. Die 29, however, is of greater academic interest, for it bears the inscription SW (abbreviating SWTEIPA, ‘saviour’ or ‘deliverer’) cleverly hidden in the curls of Arethusa’s hair. Both reverse dies show a quadriga in high action, viewed at a slight angle. They represent momentary snapshots of a victorious team turning the bend as the charioteer attempts to contain the collective power of his team. The reverse dies are so different in their arrangements that it is impossible to make a choice on merit alone, and we might conclude that they are equally accomplished. The die used to strike this coin, Tudeers 54, is lively and powerful, yet it still possesses a sense of formality that is amplified by the unusual, upright posture of Nike, who advances toward the driver. The heads of the horses toss about in a precise arrangement that by this time had become canonical at Syracuse: the outermost horses maintain relatively controlled postures as the heads of the interior horses toss about wildly. The placement of a fallen meta (turning post) beneath the horses only adds to the drama of the scene. Kimon’s other reverse die for the series, Tudeer 53, presents a more volatile scene. The driver, with goad engaged, is being tested by his team, which rears back with great force, perhaps because the charioteer has demanded something unexpected. Undisturbed by the chaos below, Nike floats calmly above, reaching out to crown the driver. We may note that on this signed die the artist delights in showing the hooves of the lead horse breaking through the linear border. When composing his note on this coin for its appearance in Leu 76, Dr. Alan Walker remarked: “It could well be that in 1787 it was a facing-head Kimon Tetradrachm like this one, a coin which we know was in the Torremuzza collection, that inspired Goethe to his rhapsodies over the fresh beauty of coins, as compared to the dusty ruins visible in the countryside.”