Coins of Ancient Sicily. By G. F. Hill, MA. (A.
Constable and Co. 21s. net.)—Mr. Hill need hardly apologise for popularising a subject which is specially his own. Popularisa- tion is objectionable only when it is not founded on scientific knowledge. The interest of this book is, of course, primarily artistic. But the historical element is not by any means unim- portant. The relations of the Sicilian Greek cities, so important in Hellenie history, appear in their coinage. So do their internal politics. A Greek citizen was very jealous in the matter of his coinage. Rulers who beCame prOverbial as tyrants did not venture on tampering with the coinage designs. The name of a tyrant does not appear till the time of Agathocles (810 B.C.) ; when Hicetas succeeded to the despotism, after a brief interval of freedom, he deferred to popular feeling by using, not the genitive, indicating possession, but the nominative, as of the holder of office. The portrait appears for the first time in the days of Hiero II. (269 B.C.) Mr. Hill puts his facts and criticisms in a very lucid and orderly way.
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