![]() The reverse of the coin had a picture of Pegasus, the mythical winged horse of Corinth's legendary hero, Bellerophon. The obverse of the coin was provided with a picture of Athena wearing the famous Corinthian helmet. Their coins were usually produced in silver. Artemis, the goddess of hunting and nature, was associated with bees.Ĭorinth at one time accumulated a great deal of wealth. Probably that's why they used beautiful pictures of bees on their coins. The city's Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. They were one of the earliest to mint their own coin. The ancient coins of Ephesus still hold great value. During the fourth century, the city changed its reverse picture to a lion with a star or a rose and the obverse picture to Apollo's. After the Persian War ended, the city changed its incuse square symbol to variations of flowers and adapted silver coinage. The archaic Miletus coins were made of electrum that had an incuse square on its reverse and a lion's head on its obverse. Miletus was quite famous for their coinage as well. Pictures of Leda, Apollo, the lyre, and Artemis had a unique place. Pictures of various heroes, gods, and symbols were used in the Greek coins. They didn't have one specific iconography and had no inscriptions. Some of these unique coins were - Mytilene's coins were extremely beautiful and they were mostly made of electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, and some were made of billon, an alloy of bronze and silver. In numismatics, a coin's front is called the obverse, and the back is called reverse. These emblems mainly represented each city-state of that time. Many of their coins held emblems that are called 'badges' in numismatics. This is not surprising as the artistry of the Greeks can be witnessed in the legacy they have left in the form of the beautiful architecture of buildings, sculptures, and even their written plays and philosophy. Fun Facts About Ancient Greek CoinsĪncient Greeks embraced artistry when they were minting their coins. Read on to know more about ancient Greek coins and if you like this article, then also check out ancient Greek education facts and ancient Greek entertainment facts. The monetary system had three standards where the coins were measured by their weights. These city-states had their own coins with unique designs and materials. Greece back then was divided into city-states, some powerful and some not. The ancient coinage system of Greece can be divided into four periods of time. The system even continued into the Roman Empire, till around the third century AD. The coinage system in the country started around the seventh century BC. Ancient coins of Greece are full of history and still hold a lot of value.
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