![]() These coins were found in bulk in several hoards, like the Apadana hoard and the Ghazzat hoard throughout the Achaemenid Empire. The archaic Greek coin also spread further than the Greek nation and was widely used in the Achaemenid Empire. ![]() The various cities also include their symbols on the coins they mint. Over the years, this inter-city coin has been evacuated from several ancient Levant and Egyptian ruins or ancient buildings, which are places naturally lacking in silver supply, indicating that the coins must have spread that far.įollowing the wide circulation of the coins, other cities began to mint their own coins to 6.1 grams of “Aeginetan” weight standard. The didrachm of Aegina or the silver stater is a very good example of coins used for inter-city trade. Some of the locally issued coins were spent beyond the boundaries of the city-states and were used for inter-city trades. More than 50% of these city-states were involved in issuing their own coins. There were up to two thousand self-governing starts or cities in the Greek world in ancient time. Herodotus was credited with the invention of purer silver and pure gold coins. In its place, he introduced coins made of pure silver and pure gold, which are called Croseids. The electrum coins were, however, replaced by King Croesus in the 6th century BC. Electrum was the material used in making the coins electrum is an alloy of silver and gold and highly priced. The coins were equally used by every other Greek as a means of exchange. The Greek mercenaries would also want the coins to be marked to provide authentication. They were used to pay Greek mercenaries for the services they offer at the end of the time of service. These two coins are dated around 625 BC to 600 BC. The earliest known coins during this period are called East Greek and Lydian coins and they were found at Ephesus under the Temple of Artemis. The name given to the coins produces during this period was Roman provincial coins it was also called Greek Imperial Coins by some.Īs hinted earlier, the archaic period is the earliest period for Greek coin production. While still under the rules of the Romans, Greek cities were still producing their coins this continued for many centuries right under Roman rule. Its end oversaw the beginning of the Hellenistic period, which ended in the first century BC around the time the Romans absorbed the Greek world. ![]() This was followed by the Classical period, which started around 480 BC and ended in 330 BC around the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great. ![]() This is about the first generation of coins ever spent in Greece. The archaic period started during the 7th century BC and ended in 480 BC, which is around the time the Persian War ended. Their histories are classified into four different periods as highlighted below: We will also mention the materials used in making the coins and how important they are in recent days. In this write-up, we will focus on the ancient Greek coins and open your eyes to many of the various categories and periods of development of these coins. Many, if not all, of the coins produced in ancient Greek, were handcrafted they still stand out to be counted. A look at many of them, including the most ancient ones, will indicate the technological advancement of those ages. This pattern continued to be used on coins for centuries later, even up to the modern times.Many of the depictions of ancient Greek art and ancient Greek coins are found in sculptured works in recent times.Īncient Greek coins have quite a history behind them. Then each of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings placed his portrait on the money he commissioned to be struck in his name, while the symbols of the state appeared on the reverse. Following the representations of gods and their attributes on Greek coins, the head of the deified Alexander appeared for the first time on the obverse of coins, in his capacity as son of Zeus-Amon. Alexander the Great, whose energy and ambition brought this change to the ancient world, was invested with attribute of divinity and came to be regarded as a "demi-god." The altered political and ideological aspects were soon reflected on coins. Oriental and Western Greek interests, cults and trade were now merged in larger circles of activity. A significant change in conviction took place whereby the purely Oriental concept of the ‘divinity of kings’ became an accepted matter. The transformation that took place during the Hellenistic period was not limited to politics: substantial social, economic and cultural changes occurred as well. Hellenistic coins exhibited the interaction of the various cultural elements of that period. From there they spread westward to Greece and eastward to Persia, then became common in the region of Jordan after the conquests of Alexander the Great. Metal coins were invented in Asia Minor/ Turkey during the seventh century BC.
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