What were ancient Greek gold coins called?

What were ancient Greek gold coins called?

electrum
These coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that was highly prized and abundant in that area. In the middle of the 6th century BC, King Croesus replaced the electrum coins with coins of pure gold and pure silver, called Croeseids.

What is an OBOL coin?

An obol is an ancient Greek coin that has one-sixth the value of a drachma. The first silver obols were minted in Aegina, most likely sometime after 600 BCE. Previously, the unit of currency was iron cooking-spits. One obol became the equivalent of one spit. Obols in Aegina were produced from one gram of silver.

What is the ancient Greek word for money?

Nomisma (Greek: νόμισμα) was the ancient Greek word for “money” and is derived from nomos (νόμος) anything assigned, a usage, custom, law, ordinance”. The term nomos may also refer to an approximately 8 gram Achaean coin denomination.

What were the names of Greek coins?

The most popular were:

• The Attic (Athenian), based on the Attic drachma (4.3 g. of silver)
• The Corinthian, based on the Corinthian stater (8.6 g. of silver)
• The Aeginitan, based on the Aeginetan stater (12.2 g. of silver)

Why did they put pennies on dead people’s eyes?

According to legend, the coins were a bribe or payment used to ferry the dead into the Underworld. While this might sound strange in modern times, this practice brought peace to ancient people, ensuring their family members made it safely into the afterlife.

How many Obols are in a Stater?

The stater equaled two drachmas, and the drachma equaled six obols. Without a credit card you would have needed a bag full of coins to go shopping in ancient Greece! One of the many inheritances from ancient Greece in use today is the decoration of coin money.

How big is a drachma coin?

The size of the 20 drachma coin (24.5 cm diameter) is the typical (median) size of drachma coins ingested in the period before 2002. The size of the 10 cent coin (19.8 cm diameter) is the typical (median) size of euro coins ingested in the period of 2002.

What is the value of a drachma coin?

A modern person might think of one drachma as the rough equivalent of a skilled worker’s daily pay in the place where they live, which could be as low as US$1, or as high as $100, depending on the country.

What are the names of Ancient Greek coins?

Ancient Greek coins normally had distinctive names in daily use. The Athenian tetradrachm was called owl, the Aeginetic stater was called chelone, the Corinthian stater was called hippos (horse) and so on.

What coins did Ancient Greek people use?

Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World Early Greek Coins. The first coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that occurred naturally in local rivers. Experimentation With Coinage. Coinage and Trade. Athenian Coinage. Everyday Coinage. Coinage and War. Alexander the Great. Hellenistic Portrait Coins.

How did the ancient Greeks make their coins?

Ancient Greek Money / Greek coins Most of the Greek coins were silver. The coins were made by taking a small lump of silver and putting it on an iron mound and then stroke it with striking it with a hammer that had another kind of mound in it.Coins from the city-state of Athens sometimes had a picture of Athens owl on the silver coins.

What were Ancient Greek coins made out of?

Greek coins were made using mostly silver but also gold, electrum (a naturally occurring alloy of silver and gold), copper alloy, and bronze.