The history of ancient Greek coinage can be
divided (along with most other Greek art forms)
into four periods, the Archaic, the Classical,
the Hellenistic and the Roman. The Archaic
period extends from the introduction of coinage
to the Greek world during the 7th century
BC until the Persian Wars in about 480 BC.
The Classical period then began, and lasted
until the conquests of Alexander the Great
in about 330 BC, which began the Hellenistic
period, extending until the Roman absorption
of the Greek world in the 1st century BC.
The Greek cities continued to produce their
own coins for several more centuries under
Roman rule. The coins produced during this
period are called Roman provincial coins or
Greek Imperial Coins.
== Weight standards and denominations ==
The three most important standards of the
ancient Greek monetary system were the Attic
standard, based on the Athenian drachma of
4.3 grams of silver and the Corinthian standard
based on the stater of 8.6 grams of silver,
that was subdivided into three silver drachmas
of 2.9 grams, and the Aeginetan stater or
didrachm of 12.2 grams, based on a drachma
of 6.1 grams. The word drachm(a) means "a
handful", literally "a grasp". Drachmae were
divided into six obols (from the Greek word
for a spit), and six spits made a "handful".
This suggests that before coinage came to
be used in Greece, spits in prehistoric times
were used as measures in daily transactions.
In archaic/pre-numismatic times iron was valued
for making durable tools and weapons, and
its casting in spit form may have actually
represented a form of transportable bullion,
which eventually became bulky and inconvenient
after the adoption of precious metals. Because
of this very aspect, Spartan legislation famously
forbade issuance of Spartan coin, and enforced
the use of iron ingots, called pelanoi in
order to discourage avarice and the hoarding
of wealth. In addition to its original meaning
(which also gave the diminutive "obelisk",
"little spit"), the word obol (ὀβολός,
obolós, or ὀβελός, obelós) was retained
as a Greek word for coins of small value,
still used as such in Modern Greek slang (όβολα,
óvola, "monies").
The obol was further subdivided into tetartemorioi
(singular tetartemorion) which represented
1/4 of an obol, or 1/24 of a drachm. This
coin (which was known to have been struck
in Athens, Colophon, and several other cities)
is mentioned by Aristotle as the smallest
silver coin. Various multiples of this denomination
were also struck, including the trihemitetartemorion
(literally three half-tetartemorioi) valued
at 3/8 of an obol.
== Archaic period (~ 480 BC) ==
The earliest known electrum coins, Lydian
and East Greek coins found under the Temple
of Artemis at Ephesus, are currently dated
to the last quarter of the 7th century BC
(625-600 BC). These coins were issued either
by the non-Greek Lydians for their own use
or perhaps because Greek mercenaries wanted
to be paid in precious metal at the conclusion
of their time of service, and wanted to have
their payments marked in a way that would
authenticate them. These coins were made of
electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that
was highly prized and abundant in that area.
By the middle of the 6th century BC, technology
had advanced, making the production of pure
gold and silver coins simpler. Accordingly,
King Croesus introduced Croeseids, a double
metal standard that allowed for coins of pure
gold and pure silver to be struck and traded
in the marketplace. The first coins on mainland
Greece (Aegina, Athens and Corinth) are dated
to circa 550 BC.The credit for inventing pure
gold and silver coinage is attributed by Herodotus
to the Lydians:
"So far as we have any knowledge, they [the
Lydians] were the first people to introduce
the use of gold and silver coins, and the
first who sold goods by retail"
The Greek world was divided into more than
two thousand self-governing city-states (in
Greek, poleis), and more than half of them
issued their own coins. Some coins circulated
widely beyond their polis, indicating that
they were being used in inter-city trade;
the first example appears to have been the
silver stater or didrachm of Aegina that regularly
turns up in hoards in Egypt and the Levant,
places which were deficient in silver supply.
As such coins circulated more widely, other
cities began to mint coins to this "Aeginetan"
weight standard of (6.1 grams to the drachm),
other cities included their own symbols on
the coins.
Athenian coins, however, were struck on the
"Attic" standard, with a drachm equaling 4.3
grams of silver. Over time, Athens' plentiful
supply of silver from the mines at Laurion
and its increasing dominance in trade made
this the pre-eminent standard. These coins,
known as "owls" because of their central design
feature, were also minted to an extremely
tight standard of purity and weight. This
contributed to their success as the premier
trade coin of their era. Tetradrachms on this
weight standard continued to be a widely used
coin (often the most widely used) through
the classical period. By the time of Alexander
the Great and his Hellenistic successors,
this large denomination was being regularly
used to make large payments, or was often
saved for hoarding.
International circulationArchaic Greek coinage
seems to have had a very wide circulation
in the Achaemenid Empire. Many of them were
discovered in coin hoards throughout the Achaemenid
Empire such as the Ghazzat hoard and the Apadana
hoard, and also very far to the East, such
as the Kabul hoard or the Pushkalavati hoard
in Ancient India, following the Achaemenid
conquest of the Indus Valley. Generally, Greek
coins (both Archaic and early Classical) are
comparatively very numerous in the Achaemenid
coin hoards discovered in the East of the
Achaemenid Empire, much more numerous than
Sigloi, suggesting that the circulation of
Greek coinage was central in the monetary
system of those part of the Empire.
== Classical period (480-323 BC) ==
The Classical period saw Greek coinage reach
a high level of technical and aesthetic quality.
Larger cities now produced a range of fine
silver and gold coins, most bearing a portrait
of their patron god or goddess or a legendary
hero on one side, and a symbol of the city
on the other. Some coins employed a visual
pun: some coins from Rhodes featured a rose,
since the Greek word for rose is rhodon. The
use of inscriptions on coins also began, usually
the name of the issuing city.
The wealthy cities of Sicily produced some
especially fine coins. The large silver decadrachm
(10-drachm) coin from Syracuse is regarded
by many collectors as the finest coin produced
in the ancient world, perhaps ever. Syracusan
issues were rather standard in their imprints,
one side bearing the head of the nymph Arethusa
and the other usually a victorious quadriga.
The tyrants of Syracuse were fabulously rich,
and part of their public relations policy
was to fund quadrigas for the Olympic chariot
race, a very expensive undertaking. As they
were often able to finance more than one quadriga
at a time, they were frequent victors in this
highly prestigious event. Syracuse was one
of the epicenters of numismatic art during
the classical period. Led by the engravers
Kimon and Euainetos, Syracuse produced some
of the finest coin designs of antiquity.
Amongst the first centers to produce coins
during the Greek colonization of mainland
Southern Italy (Magna Graecia) were Paestum,
Crotone, Sybaris, Caulonia, Metapontum, and
Taranto. These ancient cities started producing
coins from 550BC to 510BC.
== Hellenistic period (323-31 BC) ==
The 
Hellenistic period was characterized by the
spread of Greek culture across a large part
of the known world. Greek-speaking kingdoms
were established in Egypt and Syria, and for
a time also in Iran and as far east as what
is now Afghanistan and northwestern India.
Greek traders spread Greek coins across this
vast area, and the new kingdoms soon began
to produce their own coins. Because these
kingdoms were much larger and wealthier than
the Greek city states of the classical period,
their coins tended to be more mass-produced,
as well as larger, and more frequently in
gold. They often lacked the aesthetic delicacy
of coins of the earlier period.
Still, some of the Greco-Bactrian coins, and
those of their successors in India, the Indo-Greeks,
are considered the finest examples of Greek
numismatic art with "a nice blend of realism
and idealization", including the largest coins
to be minted in the Hellenistic world: the
largest gold coin was minted by Eucratides
(reigned 171–145 BC), the largest silver
coin by the Indo-Greek king Amyntas Nikator
(reigned c. 95–90 BC). The portraits "show
a degree of individuality never matched by
the often bland depictions of their royal
contemporaries further West" (Roger Ling,
"Greece and the Hellenistic World").
The most striking new feature of Hellenistic
coins was the use of portraits of living people,
namely of the kings themselves. This practice
had begun in Sicily, but was disapproved of
by other Greeks as showing hubris (arrogance).
But the kings of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid
Syria had no such scruples: having already
awarded themselves with "divine" status, they
issued magnificent gold coins adorned with
their own portraits, with the symbols of their
state on the reverse. The names of the kings
were frequently inscribed on the coin as well.
This established a pattern for coins which
has persisted ever since: a portrait of the
king, usually in profile and striking a heroic
pose, on the obverse, with his name beside
him, and a coat of arms or other symbol of
state on the reverse.
The Hellenistic period, and remnants of Hellenistic
independence from the Roman Empire, ended
conventionally with the Battle of Actium in
31 BC, although a few Hellenistic rulers are
known in India until the reign of the Indo-Greek
King Strato III (ruled c. 25 BC to 10 AD),
who issued the last Hellenistic coinage.
== Minting ==
All Greek coins were handmade, rather than
machined as modern coins are. The design for
the obverse was carved (in incuso) into a
block of bronze or possibly iron, called a
die. The design of the reverse was carved
into a similar punch. A blank disk of gold,
silver, or electrum was cast in a mold and
then, placed between these two and the punch
struck hard with a hammer, raising the design
on both sides of the coin.
== Coins as a symbol of the city-state ==
Coins of Greek city-states depicted a unique
symbol or feature, an early form of emblem,
also known as badge in numismatics, that represented
their city and promoted the prestige of their
state. Corinthian stater for example depicted
pegasus the mythological winged stallion,
tamed by their hero Bellerophon. Coins of
Ephesus depicted the bee sacred to Artemis.
Drachmas of Athens depicted the owl of Athena.
Drachmas of Aegina depicted a chelone. Coins
of Selinunte depicted a "selinon" (σέλινον
- celery). Coins of Heraclea depicted Heracles.
Coins of Gela depicted a man-headed bull,
the personification of the river Gela. Coins
of Rhodes depicted a "rhodon" (ῥόδον
- rose). Coins of Knossos depicted the labyrinth
or the mythical creature minotaur, a symbol
of the Minoan Crete. Coins of Melos depicted
a "mēlon" (μήλον - apple). Coins of
Thebes depicted a Boeotian shield.
== Ancient Greek coins today ==
Collections of ancient Greek coins are held
by museums around the world, of which the
collections of the British Museum, the American
Numismatic Society, and the Danish National
Museum are considered to be the finest. The
American Numismatic Society collection comprises
some 100,000 ancient Greek coins from many
regions and mints, from Spain and North Africa
to Afghanistan. To varying degrees, these
coins are available for study by academics
and researchers.
There is also an active collector market for
Greek coins. Several auction houses in Europe
and the United States specialize in ancient
coins (including Greek) and there is also
a large on-line market for such coins.
Hoards of Greek coins are still being found
in Europe, Middle East, and North Africa,
and some of the coins in these hoards find
their way onto the market. Due to the numbers
in which they were produced, the durability
of the metals, and the ancient practice of
burying large numbers of coins to save them,
coins are an ancient art within the reach
of ordinary collectors.
== See also ==
Art of ancient Greece
Indian coinage
Philippeioi
Silver stater with a turtle, early coin
== Citations ==
== Further reading ==
Grierson, Philip (1975), Numismatics, Oxford,
Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-885098-0
Head, Barclay V. (1911), Historia Numorum;
A Manual of Greek Numismatics, Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
Hill, George Francis (1906), Historical Greek
Coins, London : Archibald Constable and Co.
Jenkins, H.K. (1990), Ancient Greek Coins,
Seaby, ISBN 1-85264-014-6
Konuk, Koray (2003), From Kroisos to Karia;
Early Anatolian Coins from the Muharrem Kayhan
Collection, ISBN 975-8070-61-4
Kraay, Colin M. (1976), Archaic and Classical
Greek Coins, New York: Sanford J. Durst, ISBN
0-915262-75-4.
Melville Jones, John R, 'A Dictionary of Ancient
Greek Coins', London, Seaby 1986, reprinted
Spink 2004.
Melville Jones, John R, Testimonia Numaria.
Greek and Latin texts concerning Ancient Greek
Coinage, 2 vols (1993 and 2007), London, Spink,
0-907-05-40-0 and 978-1-902040-81-3.
Ramage, Andrew and Craddock, Paul (2000),
King Croesus' Gold; Excavations at Sardis
and the History of Gold Refining, Trustees
of the British Museum, ISBN 0-7141-0888-X.
Rutter N. K, Burnett A. M, Crawford M. H,
Johnston A. E.M, Jessop Price M (2001), Historia
Numorum Italy, London: The British Museum
Press, ISBN 0-7141-1801-X.
Sayles, Wayne G, Ancient Coin Collecting,
Iola, Wisconsin : Krause Publications, 2003.
Sayles, Wayne G, Ancient Coin Collecting II:
Numismatic Art of the Greek World", Iola,
Wisconsin : Krause Publications, 2007.
Seaford, Richard (2004), 'Money and the Early
Greek Mind; Homer, Philosophy, Tragedy', Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-53992-0.
Sear, David, "Greek Coins and Their Values:
Volume 1", London: Spink, Seaby, ISBN 0 900652
462
Sear, David, "Greek Coins and Their Values:
Volume 2" London: Spink.
Seltman, Charles (1933), Greek Coins, London:
Methuen & Co, Ltd.
Seltman, Charles, Masterpieces of Greek Coinage,
Bruno Cassirer - Oxford, 1949.
Thompson M, Mørkholm O, Kraay C. M. (eds):
An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards, (IGCH).
New York, 1973 ISBN 978-0-89722-068-2
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum:
American Numismatic Society: The Collection
of the American Numismatic Society, New York
Ward, John, Greek Coins and their Parent Cities,
London : John Murray, 1902. (accompanied by
a catalogue of the author's collection by
Sir George Francis Hill)
== External links ==
Greek Coin Collection
International Numismatic Commission
The British Academy
Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum in UK
American Numismatic Society
Perseus Project at Tuft University
Wildwinds: a database for Greek and Roman
coins - includes images
CoinArchives.com: A large database of coins
previously sold at auction - includes images
and prices
ACSearch.info: A large database of coins previously
sold at auction - includes images and prices,
this site is free.
http://coinproject.com/greek_list.php?type=1:
A large database of Greek coin types and the
most complete list of cities which struck
Greek coins.
National Numismatic Museum, Athens
Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics
Hellenic Numismatic Society
History of the Greek coins And presentation
of the Greek modern coins
Online numismatic exhibit: "This round gold
is but the image of the rounder globe" (H.Melville).
The charm of gold in ancient coinage
Digital Library Numis (DLN) Online books and
articles on Greek coins
Asia Minor Coins History and index/photo gallery
of ancient Greek and Roman coins from Asia
Minor (Anatolia/Turkey)
VCoins: a database for Greek and Roman coins
- includes images
Cornell Collection of Antiquities, Coins Collection.
Gold, silver and bronze coins from ancient
Greece.
