Tetradrachm
The tetradrachm (Greek: τετράδραχμον) was an Ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachmae.[1] It was in wide circulation from 510 to 38 BC.[2]
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[edit] History
Many surviving tetradrachms were minted by the polis of Athens from around the middle of the 5th century BC onwards; the popular coin was widely used in transactions throughout the ancient Grecian world, including in cities politically unfriendly to Athens.[2] Many tetradrachms are still surviving today, as they were used mainly traded between ships, tied together in groups of ten tetradrachms each. Athens had silver mines in state ownership, which provided the bullion. The Athenian tetradrachm was stamped with the head of Athena on the obverse, and on the reverse the image of an owl, the iconographic symbol of the Athenian polis, with a sprig of olive and a crescent for the moon. The design was kept essentially unchanged for over two centuries, by which time it had become stylistically archaic. To differentiate their currency from the rival coinage of Aegina, Athens minted its tetradrachm based on the "Attic" standard of 4.3 grams per drachma.
The tetradrachm's use as currency spread with the armies of Alexander the Great to the Greek-influenced areas of present-day Iran and India.[3]
[edit] Gallery
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The obverse and reverse of an Athenian tetradrachm from after 499 BCE.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Tetradrachm". Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetradrachms. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b Androulakis, Yiannis. "History of the Greek coins". Fleur-de-Coin. http://www.fleur-de-coin.com/currency/greekcoinshistory.asp?sec=4. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ "Tetradrachm (silver)". Coin Cabinet. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. http://www.khm.at/system2E.html?/staticE/page728.html. Retrieved 2008-01-20.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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