Artist-at-Work Demonstration:

Metalworking Techniques

The Coin Masters of Syracuse

Featuring the Legion Six Historical Society
Saturday and Sunday, June 8, 9, 22 & 23, 2013

Image: Coin with a Head of Arethousa and a Quadriga, before 405 B.C., minted in Syracuse. Tetradrachm signed by Kimon, silver. Royal Library of Belgium Coin Cabinet. Image Royal Library of Belgium, Coin Cabinet, du Chastel coll., nr. 112. VEX.2013.1.145

2013 J. Paul Getty Trust

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Metalworking Techniques

INTRODUCTION Welcome to todays Artist-at-Work Demonstration on Metalworking Techniques and The Coin Masters of Syracuse, featuring members of the Legion Six Historical Society. This demonstration is inspired by the current exhibition, Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome. We will focus on ancient metalworking and coin production in the Sicilian city of Syracuse, known for having produced some of the most beautiful coins in history.
THE INVENTION OF MONEY AND COINAGE The concept of money is nearly as old as humanity itself. From earliest times, people ascribed value to certain objects and exchanged them for commodities such as foodstuffs, livestock, and the other necessities of life. In time, gold, silver, and copper alloys such as brass and bronze came to be regarded as having a fixed intrinsic value. Thus these metals could be used in place of bartered goods to purchase other goods, both in private transactions between individuals and large-scale exchanges between the burgeoning city states and early empires of the ancient world. Gold and silver were highly valued for their decorative value and came to be thought of as precious metals, whereas copper, bronze, and brass were more utilitarian metals, but vitally important in everyday life. Early precious metal transactions required merchants or government officials to carry crude balance scales with them to measure out the metals in their bullion, or raw, form. Circa 660 B.C., in the prosperous Lydian kingdom of central Asia Minor (modern Turkey), came the development of pre-weighed nuggets of electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver that could be panned from the local riverbeds) stamped with a variety of symbols that stood as a guarantee of weight and purity. A merchant or government official could then simply count out a certain number of these stamped nuggets to complete a transaction, eliminating the need for cumbersome scales. Thus, the coin was born! Coinage took a further evolution in the reign of the Lydian King Croesus, who refined natural electrum into gold and silver and commenced striking coins in both metals, creating a denominational system of coins with differing values. The concept of coinage spread rapidly through Asia Minor, mainland Greece and Magna Graecia (the Greek citystates of coastal Asia Minor, Italy, and Sicily). Within a century, most major Greek cities began to strike their own coins. The first coins were effectively one-sided, with an obverse (one of the flat-faces of the coin) of a stamped design, usually showing the patron god or goddess of the issuing city, or another civic emblem. The reverse (the flat-face of the coin opposite the obverse) was a simple crude square or rectangular recessed punch. By the mid-500s B.C., coins started sporting images on both the heads and tails sides. Soon thereafter, the artistic and propagandistic possibilities of this earliest form of mass communication began to be exploited by the fiercely competitive city-states. While starting off with a multitude of different weight standards, Greek coinage soon settled into a set of moreor-less standard denominations based on units of weight called drachms or staters. The Attic standard, derived from the widespread Athenian owl coinage, was based on a silver drachm weighing about 4.2-4.4 grams. A fourdrachm piece, or tetradrachm, had an ideal weight of about 17.5 grams. In between was a two-drachm piece, or didrachm. What were ancient coins worth in modern terms? We know that an average skilled worker expected to be paid a silver drachm per day for his labor; hence a tetradrachm was four days wages. A soldier or sailor in peacetime received the same one drachm wage. In wartime, his pay rose to two drachms per day.

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Metalworking Techniques

COINAGE IN SICILY The first Sicilian coins were struck in the cities of Himera, on the northern coast, and Selinous, located on the underside of the western point of the island. Starting in about 540 B.C., both city-states struck silver didrachms of the same standard weight of about 8.4 grams. Selinous placed a native plant, the Selinon (or celery) leaf on the obverse as a canting pun on the citys name. Himera chose a rooster as its symbol. The city of Zankle followed soon after with a didrachm depicting a leaping dolphin, the first Sicilian numismatic depiction of an aquatic mammal, and one that would soon appear on all local coinages. EARLY SYRACUSAN COINS Syracuse, the largest and most populous Sicilian city-state, commenced coinage in about 510 B.C. From the beginning, Syracusan coins featured a basic design that persisted for the next two centuries (with evolutions in form): an obverse depicting a charioteer driving a quadriga (four-horse chariot) representing the many victories won by Syracusan horse teams in the Olympic games, and a female head on the reverse representing Arethousa, nymph of a popular island spring. On the first Syracusan tetradrachms, the female head is tiny and placed in a circle at the center of a radiating incuse pattern. As time went on, Arethousa acquired a retinue of four dolphins swimming in a circle around her head, likely a symbolic representation of the Sicily itself as an island surrounded by ocean. Arethousas head grew larger and more ornate, with subtly shifting hair styles and jewelry reflecting the popular styles of the time. Indeed, the coinage of Syracuse provides a virtual catalogue of ancient womens hair styles and adornment. Following the great Syracusan victory over Carthage at Himera in 480 B.C., the city flourished, as was reflected by an immense output of coins of outstanding artistic quality unmatched anywhere in the ancient world Coin with a Quadriga and a Head of Arethousa, circa 415 B.C., minted in Syracuse, decadrachm signed by Kimon, silver. Royal Library of Belgium Coin Cabinet. Image up to that time. Royal Library of Belgium, Coin Cabinet, de Hirsch coll., nr. 596. VEX.2013.1.114 VALUES AND METAL To foster everyday transactions in the marketplace, cities produced fractional silver coins down to tiny pieces called obols or litras, which weighed less than a gram and were about the size of a pinhead. Since these were difficult to produce and easy to lose, starting in 435 B.C., Syracuse began to issue a token coinage in bronze, with an assigned monetary value greater than the intrinsic value of the metal. The innovation of fiduciary exchange value soon spread throughout the Greek world and is still practiced today. Gold coins were originally the exclusive province of the vast Persian Empire to the East, but starting around 406 B.C., Syracuse began issuing gold coins of its own. Since gold was initially valued at thirteen times its equivalent weight in silver, gold issues were usually associated with military emergencies. Soldiers preferred to be paid in gold and would flock to the cause of any city-state that issued gold coins. In the fourth century B.C., Syracuse also struck electrum coins.

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Metalworking Techniques

COIN CREATION Whereas modern mints (a building where money is produced) use hydraulic hammers or presses to strike coins, in ancient and medieval times this was accomplished by the brute force of a man wielding a hammer. The obverse die was fixed down to a stable surface (either an anvil or a tree stump with a cutout for the die); a blank metal planchet was placed atop the obverse die, the reverse die was centered over it, and one or more sharp blows with a hammer imparted the die images to the pre-weighed disc of metal, variously referred to as a blank, planchet, or flan.
Illustration of ancient coin-making techniques.

Coin dies were hand-cut by skilled die engravers; the Greek word for this discipline is unknown but the Latin speakers of Italy referred to these artists as caelators. The artistic discipline is very similar to that of gem engraving, particularly since engraved gemstones were prominently used as signature seals in ancient times. It is likely that the best caelators also moonlighted as gem engravers and jewelry makers. Bronze dies were usually cut with a special set of tools and were case hardened by heating the metal and letting it cool slowly. Annealing, the process of heating copper alloy to red hot and quenching it quickly in water, results in a very soft metal surface; this was likely done before engraving commenced. Syracusan die engravers also used iron dies, which often became rusty and left traces on the coins struck from them. Ancient die faces would have looked similar to the ones pictured below, although the outer matrix would likely not have been as precisely cylindrical. The amount of force needed to strike a coin, and the amount of heating required for the planchet, depended greatly on the metal being used and the size of the coin being struck. Gold was a relatively soft metal and since gold coins were typically small, they could be struck cold with only moderate force. Silver coins of tetradrachm size (about the diameter of a modern U.S. quarter, but much thicker) would have required some heating or annealing of the planchet, and a strong blow from a heavy sledgehammer. Copper and bronze pieces, particularly the large bronze litra coins produced by Syracuse in the fourth century B.C., required planchets to be heated to red-hot, and one or more blows from a large, two-handed sledgehammer to get a satisfactory result. Clearly this was an operation involving up to three menone to place the planchet, one to center the die, and another to swing the hammer. The interior of an ancient mint was likely a hot, smoky and stuffy place, with furnaces and forges constantly in full flame. Ancient mints were likely heavily fortified structures, constantly guarded to protect the precious metals and even more precious minting implements stored within. If a set of official dies ever escaped the confines of the mint, counterfeiters could wreak havoc within the local economy.
A set of modern dies modeled after ancient Greek coin designs.

THE DEMARETION: PRELUDE TO GREATNESS In circa 467 B.C., Syracuse quite suddenly produced an extraordinary coin of enormous size and outstanding artistry, the Demareteion decadrachm, weighing 43 grams and valued at 10 silver drachms or two and a half tetradrachms. The name comes from Demarete, wife of the Syracusan tyrant Gelon, who after the battle of Himera in 480 B.C. is said to have intervened on behalf of the defeated Carthaginians and received a huge stipend from them. The historian Diodorus claims she used this windfall to strike a coin called a Demareteion,
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Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Metalworking Techniques

valued at 10 Attic drachms. Modern scholars now believe the surviving coins of this type were struck at least thirteen years after the battle of Himera, when Gelon and Demarete were no longer in power, but the name has persisted and the coin remains legendary and rather mysterious. These super coins were struck in small numbers, perhaps as special gifts to high government officials and/or foreign dignitaries. They did, however, circulate alongside more regular denominations, as most of the surviving examples show considerable wear from circulation. Fewer than a dozen examples of this early decadrachms survive to the present day, most of them residing in museum collections. THE MASTER ENGRAVERS Caelators were all highly skilled artisans, but only a handful achieved the level of true artists. Syracuse can boast the first truly great masters of coinage. In the last decades of the fifth century B.C., these engravers achieved such renown that they took to signing their creations in the manner of a painter or sculptor, and thus preserved their names and achievements for millennia to come. The first of these Master Engravers was Eumenes, followed closely by Eukleidas, Sosion, Phrygillos, and Parmenides, each with their own unique style. These men worked together but also strove to outdo one another in creating dies of such detail and refinement that they still set the standard for classical beauty.

Silver Tetradrachm with a female charioteer and facing, helmeted head of Athena, before 405 B.C., dies signed by Eukleidas. Royal Library of Belgium, Coin Cabinet, de Hirsch coll., nr 605. VEX.2013.1.149

This only set the stage for the two most famous engravers of Syracuse, Kimon, and Euianetos, who appear on the scene around 405 B.C. Kimon made his initial statement with an incredible front-facing head on a tetradrachm that, for the first time, depicted Arethousa on the obverse side of the coin (seen on the cover of this brochure). The reverse was also a tour de force, showing the four horses straining at the reigns in a variety of attitudes suggesting vigorous action. THE DECADRACHMS Also commencing circa 405 B.C. were the series of silver decadrachms by Kimon and Euainetos, of the same size as the Demareteion pieces but of a more Classical style. These large coins were struck in enormous numbers, probably to pay the Greek mercenary soldiers who now flooded Sicily to fight the expanding power of Carthage. The decadrachm era of Kimon and Euianetos, circa 405-390 B.C., coincided with a time of upheaval in Sicily that saw Syracuse eclipsed as the main power on the island. Carthage began a slow and fitful conquest of Sicily that eventually drew most other cities under its power and left Syracuse in control only of its immediate hinterland. The constant warfare placed great stress on Syracuses finances and coin production suffered accordingly. Many Sicilian die engravers seem to have left Greek employ and gone to work for the Carthaginians, who produced a lovely series of coins now called Siculo-Punic. The artistic quality of Syracuses coins remained high, but the style became repetitive and never again approached the heights achieved by the Master Engravers of the late fifth century B.C.

Artist-at-Work Demonstration: Metalworking Techniques

BIOGRAPHY Founded in A.D. 2001, the Legion Six Historical Foundation is a California-based group of living historians who strive to recreate the soldiers and civilians of a Roman frontier town. The groups talented members have produced their own clothing, armor, equipment, and everyday objects, all based on actual archaeological finds, ancient representational arts, and primary literary references. Its mission is to inform, educate and entertain people of all ages about Greco-Roman civilization by giving them a first-hand look at how ancient peoples looked, dressed, equipped themselves and related to one-another. Toward these goals, Legion Six has participated in film and television productions, given presentations at schools and universities, and presented demonstrations at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa. The Legion Six Historical Foundation is a 5013 non-profit organization and runs on the tax-exempt contributions of its supporters. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold-Biucchi, Carmen. The Art of Coinage. Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2013. Hoover, Oliver D. Handbook of Coins of Sicily (Including Lipara). Lancaster, PA: Classical Numismatic Group Inc., 2012. Lewis, Marcia. Chasing: ancient metalworking technique with modern applications. LarMar Productions, 1994.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS AT THE GETTY VILLA

Studio Course: Architectural Drawing Sunday, July 14, 2013 1:004:00 p.m. Getty Villa, Meeting Rooms and Outer Peristyle Be inspired by the design of the Getty Villawhich was based on the Villa dei Papiri, a Roman country house in the Herculaneumin this architectural drawing course. Join instructor Elmira Adamian for drawing exercises focusing on perspective, proportion, and ancient Roman architectural details. Open to 25 participants. Course fee $30 (materials and parking included). To register, call (310) 440-7300 or visit getty.edu. Drawing from Antiquity: Light and Shadow Saturday, July 20, 2013 11:00 a.m12:30 p.m. Getty Villa, Museum galleries Create dynamic compositions of light and shadow by sketching from ancient sculptures in the galleries. Supplies are provided, and all skill levels are welcome. Open to 25 participants. This is a free program. Sign-up begins 15 minutes before the start of the program at the Tour Meeting Place. For more information, visit http://www.getty.edu/museum/programs/courses.