★ Unsigned Dies by the Master 'A' ★

No Reserve

Sicily, Syracuse AR Tetradrachm. Time of the Second Democracy, circa 440-430 BC. Unsigned dies by the master ‘A’. Charioteer, holding kentron and reins, driving slow quadriga to right; Nike above, flying to right, crowning horses with wreath / Head of Arethusa to right, wearing double-hook earrings and necklace; ΣYPAKOΣION and four dolphins around. Boehringer 642 (V326/R442); BMC 112 (same dies); SNG ANS 207 (same dies); HGC 2, 1319. 17.68g, 25mm, 1h.

Extremely Fine.

Ex Bertolami Fine Arts - ACR Auctions, Auction 109, 4 May 2022, lot 92 (hammer: EUR 5,500).

The talented engraver who signed some of his dies simply with an ‘A’ was the very first master engraver to sign his dies at Syracuse, around 15 years before other masters such as Eumenos, Kimon and Euainetos began signing theirs.