Three Centuries of Silver: Art and the Coins of Syracuse Hardcover – September 28, 2025

Art played an integral role in the coinage of the ancient Greeks. Since few large-scale works of art have survived, the many thousands of recovered coins represent a significant portion of our tangible remains of Greek visual art. However, the relationship of coins and Greek art is often ignored by both numismatists and art historians. This book explores the artistic evolution of the major silver coinage of Syracuse from its beginning until the fall of the city to the Romans 300 years later. During this same period Greek art underwent the marked changes associated with the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic styles. The mutually influential relationship of Greek art and the specialized art of ancient coins is explored using illustrative color photographs of 14 Greek works of art and 73 enlarged photographs of silver coins from Ancient Syracuse. This book also serves as a brief illustrated history of the major silver coins of Syracuse. A timeline of significant numismatic and historical events of ancient Syracuse follows the text of the book as well as detailed descriptions of every illustrated art object or coin. Read more