Arminius Numismatics

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Galerie > Ancient World > Achaea > Achaea
Athens in Attica,     406-404 BC., Drachm, siege coinage, Sear GC 2536.
Athens in Attica, "siege coinage" or "money of necessity", 406-404 BC., 
Drachm (ø 15-16 mm / 3,77 g), silver plated bronze, axes coin alignment ↑↓ (ca. 180°), 
Obv.: head of Athena right with frontal eye in crested Attic helmet [ornamented with three olive leaves above visor and palmette on bowl, wearing round earring with central boss]. 
Rev.: ΑΘΕ , owl with "prong" tail standing three-quarters right, olive sprig behind.
Svoronos pl. 15, 19-27 ; Sear GC 2536 ; Starr, p. 74 . 
more about these issues see: Kroll/Walker, Agora 7-8 and M. Oeconomidou - Caramessini, Note on the Piraeus Hoard of 1902 of Athenian plated Coins, Coin Hoards VII (1985), 40 und J. H. Kroll, Aristophanes' ponhra calkía: A reply, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 17 (1976), 329ff. 

A specimen of the debased coinage Athens was forced to resort to after the ruinous expense of the war against Sparta and the failed expeditions to Sicily. After the loss of her fleet in Sicily, Athens was obliged to remove the golden statues of Nike from the Parthenon and convert them into coinage to finance the construction of a new fleet. Near the end of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta, Athens issued silver plated bronze coins. The fiscal crisis was so severe that bronze coins plated with silver were struck as a token currency to be used in local commerce. This is mentioned in Aristophanes' Frogs, and another of his comedies, Ecclesiazusae, informs us that in 393 the plated coins were demonetized and full silver coins again became the legal currency of Athens. 
This is a rare example of that "siege coinage", an "official fourée." This debasement is mentioned by Aristophanes in his play "The Frogs.": 

"Yea for these, our sterling pieces, all of pure Athenian mould, All of perfect die and metal, all the fairest of the fair, All of workmanship unequalled, proved and valued everywhere Both amongst our own Hellenes and Barbarians far away, These we use not: but the worthless pinchbeck coins of yesterday, Vilest die and basest metal, now we always use instead.? Ancient coins were often chiseled to test the metal. In Athens this testing became official policy. "

To deal with [counterfeits], the Athenians passed a law in 375/4 B.C. which provided for a dokimastes or 'tester' to sit near the banking tables in the Agora and in the market of Peiraieus. The judgment of this official as to the authenticity of any disputed piece was final. Any owl which was of silver and correct weight, whether it was struck in Athens or at a foreign mint, had to be accepted in commerce. Counterfeit pieces, on the other hand, were slashed by the dokimastes, withdrawn from circulation and dedicated to the Mother of the Gods. Such counterfeit owls have, in fact, been found near the Metroon, sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods." -- Greek and Roman Coins in the Athenian Agora, American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Princeton, NJ), 1975
Schlüsselwörter: Athens Attica Drachm Athena crested Attic Helmet Olive Leaves Visor Palmette Earring Owl Spray Berry incuse Square

Athens in Attica, 406-404 BC., Drachm, siege coinage, Sear GC 2536.

Athens in Attica, "siege coinage" or "money of necessity", 406-404 BC.,
Drachm (ø 15-16 mm / 3,77 g), silver plated bronze, axes coin alignment ↑↓ (ca. 180°),
Obv.: head of Athena right with frontal eye in crested Attic helmet [ornamented with three olive leaves above visor and palmette on bowl, wearing round earring with central boss].
Rev.: ΑΘΕ , owl with "prong" tail standing three-quarters right, olive sprig behind.
Svoronos pl. 15, 19-27 ; Sear GC 2536 ; Starr, p. 74 .
more about these issues see: Kroll/Walker, Agora 7-8 and M. Oeconomidou - Caramessini, Note on the Piraeus Hoard of 1902 of Athenian plated Coins, Coin Hoards VII (1985), 40 und J. H. Kroll, Aristophanes' ponhra calkía: A reply, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 17 (1976), 329ff.

A specimen of the debased coinage Athens was forced to resort to after the ruinous expense of the war against Sparta and the failed expeditions to Sicily. After the loss of her fleet in Sicily, Athens was obliged to remove the golden statues of Nike from the Parthenon and convert them into coinage to finance the construction of a new fleet. Near the end of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta, Athens issued silver plated bronze coins. The fiscal crisis was so severe that bronze coins plated with silver were struck as a token currency to be used in local commerce. This is mentioned in Aristophanes' Frogs, and another of his comedies, Ecclesiazusae, informs us that in 393 the plated coins were demonetized and full silver coins again became the legal currency of Athens.
This is a rare example of that "siege coinage", an "official fourée." This debasement is mentioned by Aristophanes in his play "The Frogs.":

"Yea for these, our sterling pieces, all of pure Athenian mould, All of perfect die and metal, all the fairest of the fair, All of workmanship unequalled, proved and valued everywhere Both amongst our own Hellenes and Barbarians far away, These we use not: but the worthless pinchbeck coins of yesterday, Vilest die and basest metal, now we always use instead.? Ancient coins were often chiseled to test the metal. In Athens this testing became official policy. "

To deal with [counterfeits], the Athenians passed a law in 375/4 B.C. which provided for a dokimastes or 'tester' to sit near the banking tables in the Agora and in the market of Peiraieus. The judgment of this official as to the authenticity of any disputed piece was final. Any owl which was of silver and correct weight, whether it was struck in Athens or at a foreign mint, had to be accepted in commerce. Counterfeit pieces, on the other hand, were slashed by the dokimastes, withdrawn from circulation and dedicated to the Mother of the Gods. Such counterfeit owls have, in fact, been found near the Metroon, sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods." -- Greek and Roman Coins in the Athenian Agora, American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Princeton, NJ), 1975

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Dateiname:2055.jpg
Name des Albums:Arminius / Achaea
Schlüsselwörter:Athens / Attica / Drachm / Athena / crested / Attic / Helmet / Olive / Leaves / Visor / Palmette / Earring / Owl / Spray / Berry / incuse / Square
Dateigröße:84 KB
Hinzugefügt am:%07. %770 %2014
Abmessungen:1024 x 512 Pixel
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