Month: September 2019
Athenian Tetradrachm
During the second half of the fifth century, the abundant silver mines of nearby Laurium allowed Athens to produce millions of tetradrachms. The silver coins helped fund the Golden Age of Athens, during which the military, politics, and culture of the ancient Greek civilization flourished. Golden Age of Athens In 479 B.C., the Greek city-states finally […]
September 30, 2019
Macedon Gold Stater of Phillip II
Philip II ruled the Kingdom of Macedon from 359-336 B.C. Though far less well-known than his son, Alexander the Great, King Phillip started the expansion of the Macedonian Kingdom into an empire. He is also remembered for his gold Staters, although most are thought to have been produced posthumously. King Philip’s gold Stater was the […]
September 23, 2019
Darics of Persia’s Achaemenid Empire
A silver or gold coin that might have circulated to pay for troops and supplies during the first Persian invasion of Greece between 492 BC and 490BC represents this important period of the history of western civilization. The invasion ended in failure for the Persians at the battle of Marathon. However, the Persians added new […]
September 16, 2019
Gold Stater of Croesus
The gold Stater of Croesus was the world’s first gold coin. It features a bull and a lion facing one another. Art was now used to adorn the surface of coins to identify the coin with the coin producer. Lydia’s King Croesus King Croesus reigned over Lydia from 561 to 547 B.C. Located in modern-day […]
September 10, 2019
Lydian Striated Stater
The Lydian striated Stater is the first attempt in western civilization at assigning value to small pieces of metal in order to facilitate trade. These small electrum (a mixture of gold and silver) coins are the first “coins” made around 660 BC. Within 60 years, many Greek city-states began to copy the idea. The Lydian […]
September 3, 2019