Ancient Coinage of Gela : Mike Markowitz

Ancient Coinage of Gela : Mike Markowitz

By Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek ….. Founded by colonists from Rhodes and Crete in 698 BCE, Gela, a city on Sicily’s southern coast, took its name from a nearby river. The city prospered, beginning to issue its silver coinage around 490 BCE. Among the Greek cities of Sicily and southern Italy in the fifth century BCE, coin die engraving achieved an artistic excellence unmatched until the 18th century in Europe, and Gela quickly became a leader in …