In the Archaic period coins were fairly crude by later standards. They were mostly small oval shaped lumps of electrum stamped with a geometric design, striations or symbol to indicate its city of origin. These first coins were minted by Kingdoms and city-states and the value of their coins would be guaranteed by their royal or civic authority.
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.
The use of coins for propaganda purposes was a Greek invention. Coins are valuable, durable and pass through many hands. In an age without newspapers or other mass media, they were an ideal way of disseminating a political message.
The first such coin was a commemorative decadrachm issued by Athens following the Greek victory in the Persian Wars. On these coins the owl of Athens was depicted facing the viewer with wings outstretched, holding a spray of olive leaves. The message was that Athens was powerful and victorious, but peace-loving. Produced in Attica, Athens a smaller version known as a silver Tetradrachm is possibly the most recognized coin in history.
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. 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. But they often lacked the aesthetic delicacy of coins of the earlier period.
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 (pride). But the kings of Ptolemaic Empire of Egypt and Seleucid Syria didn’t care, and issued magnificent large gold coins adorned with their own portraits and those of family members. 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.
All Greek coins were hand-made, rather than milled as modern coins are. The design for the obverse was carved (in reverse) into a block of stone or iron. The design of the reverse was carved into another. The blank gold or silver disk, heated to make it soft, was then placed between these two blocks and the upper block struck hard with a hammer, “punching” the design onto both sides of the coin. This is a fairly crude technique and produces a high failure rate, so the high technical standards achieved by the best Greek coins – perfect centering of the image on the disk, even relief all over the coin, sharpness of edges – is a remarkable testament to Greek perfectionism.
The best Greek coins are rare and expensive and can only be seen in museums, of which the National Numismatic Museum in Athens is one of the finest. But large hoards of Greek coins are still being found all over Europe and the Middle East, and many of the more common coins find their way onto the market. Coins are the only art form from the Ancient world which are common enough and durable enough to be within the reach of ordinary collectors.
Our hope is to find the best and finest examples of the ancient world and add them to your collection.