Dekadrachm signed by Kimon
405–400 BC ・ silver ・ 5th century BC ・ Syracuse
A Syracusan dekadrachm signed by Kimon, 405–400 BC. Nike crowns a galloping quadriga, while the reverse depicts the head of Arethusa. Kimon is known to have signed a single die three times. Large-scale minting began at the end of the 5th century BC, after the Athenian expeditionary force to Sicily was annihilated at Syracuse in 413 BC. The exergue of this die bears arms and the inscription ΑΘΛΑ (prizes), which for a long time led to the theory that these were prizes for victory games, though there is no evidence for the games themselves. This piece is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums (Arthur M. Sackler Museum).