II.5).Ĭlassical age coins provide us with an extraordinary tool, not just for the study of the economic, political and religious history of ancient Greece, but also for understanding the different art trends of that time. The coins of some Greek city-states quickly came to dominate international trade, such as the Athenian owl, the Aeginetic tortoise and the Corinthian Pegasus (see photo no. Display cases 8-11 Classical age coin issues Since the various stages of coin minting were done by hand, ancient coins were often irregularly shaped. Silver coins were then polished to improve their appearance. The blanks were then placed between a pair of dies containing inverse images, which were struck with a hammer. Once cooled, their weight and alloy composition were checked. Metal blanks, or discs, were made by first pouring the molten metal into moulds. In ancient times coin making was an entirely manual process. Display case 7 Greek coins Minting techniques using a pair of dies The improvement in production techniques also led all Greek mints to use discs bearing images in relief on both sides, marking the abandonment of the crude method of impressing images on the reverse sides of coins (i.e. Silver was the metal most commonly used to mint coins in Greece. The mina, which was further divisible, although the exact equivalence varied by country, served as the basis for the various coinage systems adopted by the Greeks: from the Euboic-Attic drachma, the most common, to the Aeginetic and Corinthian drachmas, the latter also used in Magna Graecia and Sicily.ġ talent = 30 heavy minas = 60 light minasġ drachma = 6 obols = 12 hemiobols = 24 tetratemorions Display case 6 Asia Minor Silver coins In both Asia and in Greece the highest unit of weight was the talent, which was divisible into minas. Metal coins were struck based on the system of weights in use where they were produced. Display case 5 Greek coins Weight standard Towards the end of the Archaic period, Phocaea, Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, Cyzicus and Miletus were among the most important centres for minting electrum coins (see photo no. The Greeks transformed electrum, a gold and silver alloy found naturally in the region, into coins although the ambiguous nature of the alloy soon forced the authorities to attest to its value, marking each piece. They are of great historical interest since they document the initial stages of the circulation of coined money in Asia Minor. Display case 3 Greek coins The treasure of Artemis at Ephesusĭuring the excavations of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, numerous electrum coins (drops of metal without any mark, striated or struck coins, those with figures and inscriptions) were found, buried during the time of Croesus while work was being done to level the foundation for a new temple. These coins, featuring the heads of a lion and a bull facing one another on the front side, continued to be issued even after his death (see photo no. Display case 2 The Kingdoms of Asia Minor The first appearance of gold and silver coinsĬroesus, the last king of Lydia, is credited with creating a bimetallic monetary system of gold and silver coins called croeseids related by fixed value ratios. According to Herodotus, the credit for this innovation went to the Lydians, the first to mint gold and silver coins. They became 'money' when small bars of fixed weight and metal content were impressed with the seal of a recognized authority, making it possible to exchange them by number rather than weight and eliminating the need for scales. Precious metals had been exchanged by weight from the very earliest times. Photo gallery Display case 1 Metals and money
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |