Tetradrachm
The tetradrachm (
Because of their large size, tetradrachms were often used by various states or rulers to advertise themselves or to deliver political messages. Popularity of the tetradrachm outlived the political independence of the Greeks and it remained in wide circulation in the Mediterranean up until Crisis of the Third Century, while debased varieties persisted in India and Central Asia into early Middle Ages.
Due to their often high artistic level tetradrachms are eagerly collected in modern times, and well-preserved or rare specimens can reach considerable prices.
In Athens
In Athens it replaced the earlier "heraldic" type of didrachms and it was in wide circulation from c. 510 to c. 38 BC.[2]
The transition from didrachms to tetradrachms occurred during c. 525–510 BC; the abandonment of the "heraldic"-type didrachms and the Archaic tetradrachms (early "owls") of the polis of Athens apparently took place shortly after the Battle of Salamis, 480 BC. This transition is supported by the discovery of contemporary coin hoards, and more particularly of a coin hoard found on the Acropolis in 1886. [citation needed]
The Athenian tetradrachm was widely used in transactions throughout the ancient Greek world, including in cities politically unfriendly to Athens.
In other polities
The tetradrachm's use as a currency was soon adopted by many other city-states of the ancient Greece,
Tetradrachms were common as trade coins.[7]
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Tetradrachm of Olympia
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Tetradrachm of Sparta
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Tetradrachm of Abdera
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Tetradrachm of Troy
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Tetradrachm of Kyme
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Tetradrachm ofRhegion
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Tetradrachm of Naxos
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Tetradrachm of Aetna, 5th C. BC
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Tetradrachm of Alexander the Great
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Tetradrachm of Cleopatra Thea
See also
References
- ^ "Tetradrachm". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b Androulakis, Yiannis. "History of the Greek coins". Fleur-de-Coin. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, 22.7
- ^ γλαύξ, Liddell & Scott
- ^ Philochorus: Scholion to Aristophanes, Birds 1106.
- ^ Kraay, C.M. The archaic owls of Athens: classification and chronology.
- ISBN 978-0-521-39504-5.
External links
- Pictures of Athenian tetradrachms (archive)
- Tetradrachms from Sicily, Syracuse - The Demareteion Tetradrachm