From the start of 600 BC, every Greek city started to mint all of its own types of coins. Now, most of the ancient Greek coins were made of silver. A small little lump of silver was taken, this is put on a mold which was made of iron and then it was struck with a hammer repeatedly. The hammer had a different mold on it too.

1. Ancient Greek Coins Information
2. Ancient Greek Coin Values
3. Ancient Greek Coins For Sale
4. Ancient Greek Coin Names

Ancient Greek Coins

Since there was a mold on the hammer and the iron mold, you could see two different pictures getting molded on two different sides at the same time.

Now, the pictures which were present on the different coins were actually different and they would differ according to the state in which one lived. If you were an Athenian then the coin would probably have a picture of the owl of Athena. The coin would also have the words ATHE in Greek letters.

The first Ancient Greek Coins appeared in Aegina around 600 BCE and were amongst the first coins ever minted by a western civilization. Their design tells the story of a fascinating civilisation. A society that minted coins to celebrate outstanding individuals, gods, and religious practices, as well as ancient.

• Ancient Greek coins are one of the most popular ancient coin types to collect. Many different kinds of coins are considered ancient Greek coins, including Ptolemaic bronzes and Athenian silver Owls. They span hundreds of years and thousands of miles across the ancient world.
• Online marketplace with ancient + world coins, paper money + more. Certified Dealers. Since 2005. ma-shops.com Greek Coins └ Ancient, Objects. └ Coins + Banknotes All Categories - Coins: USA Coins: Canada Coins: Ancient Coins: Medieval Coins: World Medals and Tokens Paper Money: USA Paper Money: World Coins: Europe.

Ancient Greek Coins Facts

If you were from Corinth, then you would have a coin which had the picture of Pegasus, which was a flying horse. Now the small coins used to be called obolus. if someone had the job of unloading the boats or of digging ditches then, they would probably get around 2 oboloi a day. There were coins which had more value than the rest too. Just like the mechanism we follow with the coins these days.

Now, the different divisions of the ancient Greek coins were as talents, minas, oboes, and drachmas. One talent would cost you 60 mines, one mina would take you 100 drachmas, 1 stated would get you 2 drachmas and finally one drachma would earn you 6 obolus.

Ancient Greek Coins: History

Around the mid 5th Century, BC, a salaried military class, a salaried government class workers and the parliamentary pay was also introduced. The mayor would get around 1 drachma, the judge would get 3 oboloi and finally if you were a member of the parliament, then you would land up getting around 1 drachma too.

So according to your position the ancient Greek coins would be distributed among the people of ancient Greece and according to the city the coin would be made.

Ancient Greek Coins Information

Ancient Greek Coin Values

These ancient coins are amazing. The pictured silver (AR) tetradrachm comes from Athens, Greece and dates around 393 to 350 BC. To hold something identifiable in your hand from that long ago is really quite astounding. Ancient coin collectors do it all the time!
The owl and AOE inscription quickly identify Abdullatif's coin as Athenian. If you do a Google image search on 'coin from Athens' you will see hundreds of examples.
TETRADRACHM: roughly 22 mm diameter and 17 grams
DRACHM: roughly 10 mm diameter and 4 grams
Our main picture (upper right) comes from Munzhandlung Ritter GmbH in Dusseldorf, Germany. Ritter's coin is in great shape and is currently selling for over $1000 US dollars on the VCoins.com web site. If Ritter or another reputable coin dealer were to buy such a coin from you, he or she would pay roughly one-half the retail price, perhaps more if the coin is in excellent condition.
Note the symbol in Athena's cheek is probably a countermark, added after minting. Each of these coins stands on its own merits and values vary widely. Some very, very approximate values are:
SILVER TETRADRACHM
worn: $400 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $800
well preserved: $1500
Counterfeits abound. The image to the right shows a well-executed fake. It is worth zero. The large photo near the bottom of this page is of a silver tetradrachm from Ira and Larry Goldberg in Beverly Hills, California, USA. It sold for $1300 US dollars in a 2014 auction.
It is absolutely critical for novices to ancient collecting purchase coins from well-known, fully reputable dealers. Our favorite web site for anti-counterfeit investigation is ForumAncientCoins.com.

CoinQuest thanks Munzhandlung Ritter GmbH and the Goldbergs for use of their amazing coin photos.

Ancient Greek Coins For Sale

Ancient Greek Coin Names