Dekadrachm signed by Euainetos

A Syracusan decadrachm, circa 400 BC, silver, 43.25 grams. The obverse shows the head of the nymph Arethusa with four dolphins. The reverse depicts a quadriga being crowned by Nike, with a suit of armor in the exergue. Arethusa was the nymph of the spring on the island of Ortygia, the founding site of Syracuse. The engraver Euainetos inscribed his name below her neck. It was exceptional for an engraver to sign an ancient coin, and signed decadrachms are regarded as the pinnacle of ancient numismatic art. From the Smith-Lesouëf bequest collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.