Drachm Silver Coin

Welcome to my site! We have the Drachm Silver Coin information that you are looking for.

Antique Coins: Ancient Greek Coins by Victor Epand

Ancient Greek coins have a variety of attributes that enable differentiation between the currencies of individual poleis. Each polis independently designed and created its own coins, with symbols that were representative of the deities and heroes important to that particular government. This theme supersedes all of the other trends in Greek coin making throughout the centuries.

Archaic period coins are simple and crude. Rather than being symmetrically round, they approximate lumps of metal that have been pressed into irregular disks. Usually made from gold, silver, or electrum, they have a basic impression of the patron deity of the originating polis.

During the Classical period, coin-making techniques were refined. Most coins were minted from gold or silver. The coins were more consistently shaped, with intricate representations of deities or heroes on one side and a symbol for the polis on the reverse. Inscriptions were initially incorporated into the design for coins created during the Classical period. Coin designers paid special attention to the meaning of the symbols, and used them to incorporate political messages into the currency. For example, coins depicting an owl (a symbol for wisdom) are usually from Athens during the fourth and fifth centuries B.C., when the polis was focusing on portraying an image of peaceful strength and power.

Hellenistic period coins are not as detailed as Classical period coins because they were designed to be easier to mass produce for wider circulation. They are most commonly minted from gold and are often much larger than their predecessors. While earlier coins only featured images of animals or inanimate objects, for the first time, Greek coins portrayed living people, such as a profile of the ruler of the issuing polis. The name of the ruler may be inscribed under the portrait, and on the reverse of the coin is usually a symbol for the polis.

Greek coin denominations are determined by weight. Gold coins were measured in terms of the stater, which could be divided into smaller denominations. Silver coins were measured in terms of the drachm, which could be either divided into smaller denominations or multiplied into larger denominations. Bronze coins were measured in terms of the litra. Despite the standardization in the assignment of names to the units of measurement, however, each polis defined the units of measurement differently, such that how much a stater, drachm or litra weighed in one polis did not necessarily correlate to the weights for the same units of measurement in other poleis. Thus, what sufficed as a drachm in one polis may have been too light or too heavy to be used as a drachm in another polis.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for pottery, antiques, and figurines. When shopping for pottery, antiques and figurines, we recommend these online stores for pottery, Greek antique coins, and figurines.

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Antique-Coins--Ancient-Greek-Coins/375608

FEATURED PRODUCTS:

A great place to shop for Drachm Silver Coin products is Amazon.

Check out these fine shops that offer Drachm Silver Coin products:

Other Products purchased from this website:
ancient ruler silver band ring drachm coin greek 4, apollonia pontica 450400 bc silver drachm anchor crayfish gorgoneian coin, medieval sacred bull treasure coin 8001026 ad afghanistan silver drachm, ancient parthian silver drachm coin orodes ii ex fine, 590628ad khosrau ii sasanian empiresilver drachmancient persian coin iran, 630ad silver drachm sasanian empire ancient persian coin iran, 224 651 ad silver drachm sasanian empire ancient persian coin iran, 438457adsilver drachmyazdegerd iisasanian empireancient persian coin iran, 90 to 80 bcsilver drachmorodes iparthian kingdomancient persian coin iran, the huns silver coin drachm hephthalite phromo kesaro counter mark rare, alexander iii drachm coin zeus scepter amp; hercules bust 328 323 bc silver, ancient sassaninan silver drachm hormazd v coin aber amp; levine, unpublished istros facing male heads eagle dolphin greek silver coin drachm , ancient celtic silver drachm coin volcae tectosages gaul celts 2nd century bc, trajan arabia female figure camel bostra mint drachm ancient roman silver coin, alexander the great silver coin drachm ancient greek herakles zeus , sassanian empire silver coin ar drachm, sassanian empire silver coin ar drachm 302309 hormazd, 90 70 bc indo greek silver coin drachm hermaios vfxf rare, huns hephthalite 6th c ad silver drachm ancient coin india rare vf, 238295 ad ancient greek silver drachm coin 3, 238295 ad ancient greek silver drachm coin 4, rare ancient greek silver coin bow club kallatis tools case hercules drachm old, rare ancient greek silver coin cappadocia ariobarzanes iii goddess athena drachm, indiaancient sassanian gadhaya silver drachm coin dg33, indiaancient sassanian gadhaya silver drachm coin dg34, indiaancient kumaragupta silver drachm rare coin gp97, indiaancient kumaragupta silver drachm rare coin gp98, india kingdom of valabhi 470800 silver drachm rare coin cm71, india kingdom of valabhi 470800 silver drachm rare coin cm72, india mas€ud i 10311041 silver drachm rare coinsq3, india mas€ud i 10311041 silver drachm rare coinsq4, persia parthia parthian empire mithradates iic12388 bc drachm silver coin, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin valkash ad 484 488 , persia parthia parthian empire vologases iv cad 147191 drachm silver coin, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin kavad i 498532 ad, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin shapur ii 309379 ad, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin khusro ii 591628 ad , persia parthia parthian empire osroes ii c190 ad drachm silver coin, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin ardashir ii ad 379 383, india samanta deva 850970 silver drachm rare coin sb50, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin shapur i 240270 ad, persia parthia parthian empire orodes i c 9080 bc drachm silver coin, persia iran sasaniansassanian drachm silver ar coin shapur iii 383388 ad, ancient greek silver coin archaic gorgoneion amp; incuse square half drachm, ancient greek king alexander the great of macedon silver drachm coin, silver drachmalexander the great 336323 bc superb style very high relief coin, very rare kavadi ad 488497 ancient sassanian silver drachm coin, athens attica silver drachm rare greek coin h567, 325323 bc xf 45 anacs alexander the great silver drachmincredible coininv354, india ancient drachm maitrikas vallabhi bhakta silver coin saurashtra region

Filed under: Coins: Ancient

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!