Silver Stater, Aegina
Title
Silver Stater, Aegina
Subject
Coinage--Greece
Description
Obv. sea turtle
Rev. rough incuse square with design of lines
Weight: 11.4g
Diameter: 17.0mm
Aegina is a mountainous island off the coasts of Attica and the Peloponnese. By the sixth century BCE, they were a great naval power due to trade routes with Asia Minor. It is perhaps through these trade routes that coins were introduced. It is unclear whether the Aegina turtles or coins minted in Lydia came first. From archaeological evidence, the earliest Aegina turtles were minted around 550 BCE. These turtles were mostly used locally in the Cyclades and Crete. Still, they inspired the proverb “courage and wisdom are overcome by turtles.” The reverse of the coin was not an intentional design, rather it was simply the other side of the die used to punch the turtle design in. Ten thousand of these turtles were produced each year from 550 to 480 BCE. After 480, Athens became the dominant power. In 457 BCE, Aegina was conquered by Athens and stripped of its naval rights. Reflecting this, Aegina’s coins no longer depicted a sea turtle, but a land tortoise.
This is an example of one of the first coins minted in the ancient Greek world. Initially, the city-states of Greece operated on a barter system, eventually graduating to trading goods for bars of metal. These bars evolved into obeloi, metal rods about one and a half meters long in groups of six. The obelos would eventually inspire the obol, an ancient Greek coin denomination. The first Greek coins were minted in Aegina around 600 BCE and are known as “turtles” for their distinctive design. Coins were invented as a way to pay soldiers more easily; soldiers could not carry bartering materials with them into battle, but a pouch of coins was definitely feasible. Bartering continued through maritime trade, where there was more room on ships than in soldiers’ packs to carry resources. Coins eventually became integrated in markets and payments made by the state for their convenience.
Rev. rough incuse square with design of lines
Weight: 11.4g
Diameter: 17.0mm
Aegina is a mountainous island off the coasts of Attica and the Peloponnese. By the sixth century BCE, they were a great naval power due to trade routes with Asia Minor. It is perhaps through these trade routes that coins were introduced. It is unclear whether the Aegina turtles or coins minted in Lydia came first. From archaeological evidence, the earliest Aegina turtles were minted around 550 BCE. These turtles were mostly used locally in the Cyclades and Crete. Still, they inspired the proverb “courage and wisdom are overcome by turtles.” The reverse of the coin was not an intentional design, rather it was simply the other side of the die used to punch the turtle design in. Ten thousand of these turtles were produced each year from 550 to 480 BCE. After 480, Athens became the dominant power. In 457 BCE, Aegina was conquered by Athens and stripped of its naval rights. Reflecting this, Aegina’s coins no longer depicted a sea turtle, but a land tortoise.
This is an example of one of the first coins minted in the ancient Greek world. Initially, the city-states of Greece operated on a barter system, eventually graduating to trading goods for bars of metal. These bars evolved into obeloi, metal rods about one and a half meters long in groups of six. The obelos would eventually inspire the obol, an ancient Greek coin denomination. The first Greek coins were minted in Aegina around 600 BCE and are known as “turtles” for their distinctive design. Coins were invented as a way to pay soldiers more easily; soldiers could not carry bartering materials with them into battle, but a pouch of coins was definitely feasible. Bartering continued through maritime trade, where there was more room on ships than in soldiers’ packs to carry resources. Coins eventually became integrated in markets and payments made by the state for their convenience.
Date
6th c. BCE
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