Greek Tetradrachm, Leontini

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Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Tetradrachm, Leontini
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Bentham.
Date500-466 B.C.E.
MediumSilver
DimensionsDiameter: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm)
Credit LineTransfer from Hamilton College Archives, Burke Library. Gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine, Class of 1874
Object numberS2018.1.5
Not on view
DescriptionLeontini, modern day Lentini, was an ancient Greek town in Sicily. The obverse of this tetradrachm is worn, but the reverse depicts a lion’s head with its mouth open to the right, representative of the name of the town. Four grains of wheat and the inscription LEONTINON, meaning “of the Leontini,” surround the lion's head. This coin is a part of the Paine Coin Collection. This teaching collection of 32 Greek and Roman coins was formed by John Alsop Paine (1840 – 1912), Class of 1859, who was an archaeologist with the Palestine Exploration Society and a Curator in the Department of Casts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1889 until 1906. The collection came to the college through John Alsop Paine’s grandson, Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853 – 1948), Class of 1874.

Additional Details

Provenance 2018: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by transfer from College Archives, Burke Library;
?: Hamilton College, by gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948);
?: Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948), presumably by inheritance or gift from his grandfather, John Alsop Paine (1840-1912);
?: John Alsop Paine (1840-1912), by excavation.
Inscribed LEONTINON ("of the Leontini") on reverse
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 336 B.C.E. - 323 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.9
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 490 B.C.E. - 461 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.10
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 317 B.C.E. - 310 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.11
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 460 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.1
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 400 B.C.E. - 265 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.7
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 413 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.
Medium: Bronze
Object number: S2018.1.16
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 275 B.C.E. - 215 B.C.E.
Medium: Bronze
Object number: S2018.1.14
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 390 B.C.E. - 350 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.6
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 370-300 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.3
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 272 B.C.E. - 235 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.12
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 305-284 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.4
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 204 B.C.E. - 180 B.C.E.
Medium: Bronze
Object number: S2018.1.13