Ancient greece coinage series#

The standard reverse type of the city’s coinage was an incuse design also called “skew”.ġ4. The widespread circulation of Aeginitan coins led multiple Aegean cities to adopt the Aeginitan weight standard.Īegina’s badge was the tortoise. These coins were used widely in areas without silver coinage such as Egypt and the Levant. The Aeginitan standard was based on a silver didrachm or stater. The first silver ancient Greek coins belong to the city of Aegina. However, it restored its image by fighting valiantly in the Naval battle of Salamis (480 BCE) alongside the Athenians. During the Persian invasion of Greece, Aegina initially submitted to the Persians. The city of Aegina was a Dorian colony of the city of Epidaurus. Aegina Turtle (obv.) and Incuse Square (rev.), Silver stater of Aegina, 456/45-431 BC, American Numismatic SocietyĪegina is an island near Athens in the western Aegean. Worth noting is that in ancient numismatics (the study of ancient coinage) a coin’s front-side is called obverse and its back-side reverse.ġ5. These symbols (badges) were representations of the city and made its coins easily recognizable. The coinage of each city-state employed symbols drawn from history and myth. The Aeginitan, based on the Aeginetan stater (12.2 g.The Corinthian, based on the Corinthian stater (8.6 g.The Attic (Athenian), based on the Attic drachma (4.3 g.To facilitate trade, ancient Greek cities began following certain weight standards. However, in antiquity, two factors mainly determined a coin’s value material and weight.

Ancient greece coinage series#

Their value depends on a series of factors like quality, rarity, historical value, material, and others. Please check your inbox to activate your subscription Thank you!Īncient coins sold in auctions today are numismatic coins. We will focus specifically on cities from mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and Asia Minor. In this article, we will explore 15 distinctive ancient Greek coins of the Classical period. Their added value is mainly a result of their ancient history and rarity. This means that they are worth more than the value of their precious metal and are therefore valuable collectibles. Today ancient Greek coins are also numismatic coins. At that point in history, the Greek world was divided into roughly 2.000 city-states most with their unique coin production and imagery.

The Greek Classical period lasted from the Ionian revolt (500 BCE) to the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE). It is not an exaggeration that ancient art reached a high point in Classical Greece. Owl (rev.), Silver tetradrachm of Athens (left), 450-06 BCE, The British Museum Amphora and rose (rev.), Silver stater of Thebes (center), 378-35 BCE, The British Museum Sphinx (obv.), Silver drachm of Chios (right), 412-334 BCE, Coin Archives