CoinTalk Member Reports Acquiring a Syracuse Octopus Litra
On the CoinTalk forum, a member posting as "The Meat man" reported acquiring an ancient Syracusan litra with an octopus on the reverse, which he described as struck c. 460-450 BC and weighing 0.78 g. Other members posted Syracusan bronze and gold coins that also show an octopus.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the forum posts that are the source. We removed unsupported market and investment claims (that condition drives value and that mintage does not guarantee investment value), the error that the post appeared on Reddit, and unsupported statements about size and circulation, and presented the details as the posters' own descriptions. The previous headline was "Rare Condition Drives Value of Ancient Syracuse Litra Coins."
This article is based on posts in a CoinTalk forum thread titled "Finally got me a Syracuse Octopus Litra." The details are the posters' own descriptions and opinions and have not been independently verified. The date of the original post is not known.
The Litra the Poster Reported
A member posting as "The Meat man" said he had acquired a litra, a small silver coin, from Syracuse in ancient Sicily, with an octopus on the reverse. He wrote that he had wanted one "for awhile."
He said he liked the artistry of the octopus, "even though he may be missing an arm or two," and that the head of Arethousa on the obverse was "very nicely done too." He added that there are better examples, but that his coin "doesn't really have any faults" and that he was happy with it.
The Poster's Description
The poster listed the coin as follows:
- Sicily, Syracuse, Second Democracy, 466-405 BC - AR litra, 12.4 mm, 0.78 g - Struck c. 460-450 BC - Obverse: head of Arethousa right, wearing a pearl tainia - Reverse: ΣYRA, octopus - References: SNG ANS 132; HGC 2, 1375
The description also says the coin is "darkly toned" and "perfectly centered and well struck."
Other Octopus Coins in the Thread
Other members posted Syracusan coins with an octopus. These are also the posters' own descriptions.
- Alegandron: a bronze onkia (12-10 mm, 1.4 g, 425-415 BCE) and a bronze tetras (2.7 g, 15 mm, c. 425 BCE, with an octopus and three pellets) - panzerman: a gold 10 litrai from the time of Agathokles I (317-289 BC), 0.94 g, 9.5 mm
The Meat man replied that he had not known gold octopus coins were minted. panzerman answered that there were "even EL 5 Litrai ones."
Source: CoinTalk, "Finally got me a Syracuse Octopus Litra."
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