Sicily. Syracuse. AR Tetradrachm, obverse die signed by the Master Euainetos (17.15g), 413-405 BC. ANS 267; Fischert-Bossert 38; MAST 2.48 (this coin). Very rare. Old cabinet tone. Well centered and struck on a broad flan. A coin of great beauty and fascination. Possibly the finest known! Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart, Brussels; Numismatik Lanz 1988 (46) lot 80.

"I had a reputation for beauty..." said Arethusa (Ovid, The Metamorphoses, 5.572). But it was Euainetos, one of the most famous masters of the late fifth century, who lent the nymph grace, splendor and life by infusing her with the vibrant beauty of a young Syracusan woman. She is so elegant with her earrings, pearl necklace, and refined hairstyle. Whenever serious collectors stumble across a dazzling Arethusa by Euainetos, at some major auction, they become awestruck, gripped by emotion and desire... and like the venerable elders of Troy who marveled as Helen approached their ramparts like somme immortal goddess, they will inevitably decide that Arethusa, too, 'is well worth a war'... a bidding war, at least!