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NEW Mamertini or "Children of Mars" were a band of Campanian (or Samnite) mercenaries who, about 289 B.C., seized Messana at the north-east corner of Sicily, after having been hired by Agathocles to defend it. The Mamertines held Messana for over 20 years, converting it from a town of farmers and traders to a raiding base for pirates on land and sea. In 265 B.C., after Hiero of Syracuse had defeated them and besieged Messana, the Mamertines appealed to Carthage for aid. Soon after they appealed to Rome to rid them of the Carthaginians. The Mamertini then disappear from history, except even centuries later the inhabitants of Messana were called Mamertines. "Mamertine wine" from the vineyards of north-eastern tip of Sicily was the favorite of Julius Caesar and he made it popular after serving it at a feast to celebrate his third consulship.GB114421. Bronze dichalkon, Särström Series XVII, Group A, 365-370; Calciati I 44; SNG ANS 452; Carbone RBW 1434; SNG Cop. 466; Hunterian I 32; HGC 2 857; BMC Sicily -, VF, green patina, earthen encrustation, rev. slightly off-center, XII bold, weight 7.394 g, maximum diameter 23.2 mm, die axis 180o, Messana (Messina, Sicily, Italy) mint, c. 220 - 200 B.C.; obverse Head of young Heracles right, wearing a lion’s skin; reverse MAMEPTINON (mostly obscured), Artemis running right, bow and quiver over shoulder, gripping long lighted torch with both hands, hound running behind alongside her; XII (mark of value) in right field; $150.00 SALE PRICE $135.00