FIRST COINS: Mid-SixthCentury

FIRST DECIMAL COINS: 1831

MAIN MINT: Athens

CURRENCY: Euro

 Before the invention of coinage, the ancient Greeks used to measure values in terms of  livestock, and for money in more portable forms they used objects such as weapons, axes, cooking utensils and iron spits, as well as ingots of precious metal. Greeks in western Turkey produced some of the earliest of all coinage issues in the late seventh century bc. The use of coinage then spread westwards, and the first issues of mainland Greece and the Aegean islands date from the mid-sixth century.

Apart from a few isolated issues of white-gold coins from Athens and northern Greece, all of the early coinage of Greece was silver. The main producers of the earliest period (550-480 bc)were the three rival city staes of Aegina, Corinth and Athens. Aegina at this time dominated Greek trade in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, and its early coins, known as'turtles' because of the turtle design on the front, circulated widely in these areas. In the Aegean islands the weight standard of the Aeginetan coinage was widely copied when the first local coinages were made, before 500 bc. The trading in terests of Corinth were directed westwards, and the silver 'colts' of Corinth, named after the Pegasus design on the front, were influential in the development of coinage in north-western Greece and also in southern Italy and Sicily. The famous 'owls' of Athens, named after the bird that appears on the back of the coins (the head of Athena appears on the front), began to be issued towards the end of the sixth century bc, when the silver mines of Laurion in Attica came into full production. Earlier coin issues came in a variety of designs.

From these major centres of production coinage spread throughout Greece. The cities of Euboea:Carystus, Chalcis and Eretria; Boeotia and in central Greece; in the west; and various cities and tribes in Macedonia and Thrace in the north all produced significant issues of coinage before 480 bc. Northern Greece contained rich deposits of silver, and this region produced some especially large silver coins, mainly minted for export east to the heartlands of the Persian Empire, where silver was more highly valued: parts of northern Greece were under Persian rule during the reigns of the Persian Kings Darius I (521-486 bc) and Xerxes (486-465 bc).

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

In 480 and 479 bc the Greeks defeated the invading forces of Xerxes in the sea battle of Salamis and the land battle of Plataea. These victories heralded an era of supreme cultural achievement. Monuments such as the temples of the Athenian acropolis and many works of art and literature survive still, and the Greeks of the Aegean area and Greek settlers elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions produced some of the finest coins ever issued.

The major power in Greece after 480 bc was Athens, leader of the newly formed Delian League, a confederation of Greek states united in opposition against Persia. The silver owl coinage of Athens, now produced from the proceeds of tribute exacted from the league members as well as the mines of Laurion, was issued in massive quantities, particularly in the second half of the fifth century bc. However, Athenian dominance came to an end when the Peloponnesian War (431-404 bc) between Athens and a confederacy of Greek states led by Sparta ended in defeat for Athens.

Other Greek city states which produced substantial coinages in the period 480-400 bc included Corinth and later Sicyon and Elis in the south and Thebes in central Greece. The output of coinage from Aegina and the Aegean islands, on the other hand, declined, and in the north production of large-denomination silver coins by various tribes and cities came to an end towards the middle of the century, though the minting of normal-size silver pieces continued at many cities, notably Abdera, Acanthus, Mende and Thasos.

The first issues of gold coinage were produced by Athens at a time of emergency towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, and the first bronze coins also began to appear in the late fifth century bc, in Macedonia and Thrace in the north. However, silver coinage remained dominant into the fourth century bc. Many more city states and leagues of cities in Greece were now striking coinage so there was great variety in coin designs and the level or artistry was high. Notable coinages include the issues of Thebes, Corinth, the Chalcidian League in the north, islands such as Chios and Rhodes, and Crete. Some of the most attractive coins were produced by various cities in the Peloponnese, including Elis, Argos, Messene and the Arcadian League, by Larissa and the Locrians of Opus in central Greece and by Amphipolis in Macedonia. A notable feature of Greek coinage in the fourth century bc was the more frequent recording of the names of civic officials in coin inscriptions. There was also a marked increase in the production of lower-value coinage, now often struck in bronze.

PHILIP II AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Coinage was issued in the name of the kings of Macedonia in northern Greece from the reign of Alexander I (about 498-451 Bc), but it was Philip II (359-336 Bc) and his son Alexander the Great (336-323 Bc) who had the greatest influence on the development of coinage.

Under Philip the Macedonian kingdom became the dominant power in Greece and he prepared an expedition to liberate the Greeks of Asia Minor from Persian rule. He also reorganized the Macedonian coinage, producing great quantities of both silver and, for the first time, gold coinage. After Philip's death his plans for the conquest of the Persians were pursued by his son, who continued to issue identical gold coinage, but he also introduced new coinages with his own designs: the head of Heracles and a seated Zeus on the silver, and the head of Athena and a figure of Victory on the gold. These coinages, needed to finance Alexander's campaigns, were issued in massive quantities from mints established throughout the vast areas eventually conquered, and because of their popularity they continued to be minted long after Alexander's death.

THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD

The empire established by Alexander the Great did not survive intact for long. Various generals fought for the succession and began helping themselves to portions of the empire. Cassander gained control of Greece and accepted the title of king in 306 bc, issuing his own bronze coinage but continuing to strike silver coins with the designs and in the names of Philip ll and Alexander. Demetrius Poliorcetes (the 'besieger'), who replaced Cassander, was another leader to issue posthumous Alexander coins, hut he also introduced coins with his own portrait. His descendants, Philip V (221-179 Bc) and Perseus (179-165 Bc), who were later kings of Macedon, continued the tradition of royal portraiture on coinage.

In addition to the kings of Macedon, various other rulers, such as Lysimachus of Thrace (323-281 Bc), Pyrrhus of Epirus (295-272 Bc) and the later kings of Sparta, issued their own coinages. Issues of silver coinage by the city states were less frequent, but issues of bronze coinage were still produced by numerous cities. Another feature of the Hellenistic period was the growth of leagues of cities; coinages in silver and bronze were issued, for example, by the Acamanian, Achaean, Boeotian and Thessalian leagues.

ROMAN DOMINATION

The defeat of the last Macedonian king, Perseus, at the battle of Pydna in 168 bc brought Macedonia under Roman control, and following the destruction of Corinth in 146BC southern Greece also fell under the domination of Rome. New coinages were introduced for Macedonia, replacing the earlier regal issues. Thasos and Maronea in the north continued to issue their own silver coins, but elsewhere in Greece there was a great reduction in the production of all but bronze local coinage. The only important silver coinage still produced in southern Greece was the new-style owl coinage of Athens, featuring the owl standing on an amphora and surrounded by a wreath.

Roman coins were not introduced into Greece until the mid-first century bc, when the region became involved in the civil wars between Roman generals, and gold Roman aurei and silver denarii, as well as issues of bronze coinage, were minted locally to pay Roman soldiers. At the same time the production of silver coinage by the Greek city states came to an end. Bronze coins for local use were still produced in the Greek cities, some of which, including Corinth, had been refounded as Roman colonies.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE

The battle ofActium (31 bc), which ended republican Rome's civil wars and brought the Roman world under the rule of one man, Octavian, was fought off the coast of western Greece. Under the Roman Empire Greece was divided into several administrative units. Most of northern Greece formed the province of Macedonia, but the eastern extension was part of Thrace. Southern Greece formed the province of Achaea, but Crete was administered jointly with Cyrenaica (Libya) in North Africa and some of the islands of the eastern Aegean belonged to the province of Asia. Roman gold and silver coins were the standard currency, and Roman imperial bronze coins-sestertii, dupondii and asses - also circulated, but these were outnumbered by the locally produced bronze coins of the Greek cities. Local silver coins were no longer issued, except for a few rare pieces from Crete.

Most of the bronze coins issued by the cities of Greece under the Roman Empire had imperial portraits on the front, coupled with designs of more local significance on the back. Inscriptions on the coins were usually in Greek, except at the cities which were Roman colonies, such as Corinth and Patrae in Achaea, and Dium, Pella and Philippi in Macedonia, which used Latin. Some coins - including all the issues of Athens, those issued by Corcyra before the time of Antoninus Pius (138-61 bc), and most of the third-century ad issues of the province of Macedonia - did not have imperial portraits, but concentrated on figures of local mythology or history.

Output of local bronze coinage under the Roman Empire varied from period to period. Numerous issues under Nero (ad 54-68), who decreed Greeks need pay no taxes, were followed by virtually no issues under Vespasian (69-79), who reversed the order. The peak period was the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211), when many cities in the Peloponnese were added to the list of minting centres. The principal issuers in the Roman period were the province of Macedonia, Thessaly, Crete, and the cities of Amphipolis and Thessalonica in Macedonia, and Athens, Corinth and Patrae in Achaea.

The last local bronze coins were issued under Gallienus (253-68) in Thessaly, Nicopolis and Lacedaemon (Sparta). By this time Greece was relying almost entirely on Roman coins, particularly base-silver antoniniani, and when the minting of imperial coinage was systematically devolved under Diocletian at the end of the third century a mint was established at Thessalonica. This operated for most of the fourth and fifth centuries, producing standard Roman imperial coinage, regularly in bronze and occasionally in gold or silver, for circulation in the region.

THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Throughout the early Middle Ages Greece remained under Byzantine control, ruled from Constantinople by the eastern emperors. The only coinage in use in Greece until the end of the twelfth century was that of Byzantium. At various times there were mints in Greece producing official Byzantine coins. Most important was that at Thessalonica, one of the greatest cities of the empire and, after the Arab conquests, second only to Constantinople. The mint there was active in the sixth and early seventh centuries, producing the full range of Byzantine coins: petty coinage in copper and the gold solidus or nomisma, semissis and tremissis.

Minting at Thessalonica ceased under Constans II (641-68) and was not revived during the Byzantine 'dark ages', when the Balkans and Greece were subjected to invasion and settlement by Slavs and Bulgars. Nevertheless, central Greece remained under Byzantine control and continued to maintain an economy based on the circu- lation of money throughout the eighth and ninth centuries. Crete, however, was lost to the Arabs from 827 until 961. These gave it its own currency of gold dinars and copper fals, with occasional issues of silver dirhems.

In mainland Greece there was a great expansion in the use of coinage when Byzantine power revived in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Corinth, Thebes and Athens were prosperous centres and mints may have operated, perhaps at Corinth and Thessalonica.
Large-scale minting was revived at Thessalonica under Alexius l Comnenus in about 1081-2 and continued until the Fourth Crusade (1204), though in the late twelfth century copper tetartera alone were being issued.

The Latin conquest of Byzantium by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 ended the uniform currency of Greece. Byzantine power revived in the rival empires of Thessalonica and Nicaea (in Asia Minor). Base-silver trachea were minted at Byzantine Thessalonica in the 1230s and 1240s and after the capture of the city by John lll Ducas Vatatzes, the Emperor of Nicaea, a full range of gold, electrum, base-silver and copper denominations were produced there. In addition, the Byzantine despots of Epirus struck silver and base-silver trachea at Arta from 1204 to 1271.

Minting at Thessalonica continued under the restored Byzantine Empire from 1262 until the capture of Greece by the Turks; it was the only mint to operate apart from Constantinople itself. Often its issues had distinct designs, featuring in particular the image ofSt Demetrius, patron of Thessalonica. However, from the late thirteenth century its issues were confined largely to copper. The use of Byzantine coinage was increasingly confined to the enclaves of direct Byzantine control: Macedonia and Thrace and the despotate of the Morea in the Peloponnese.

BYZANTINE RULERS MINTING IN  THESSALONICA

Anastasius (491-518)

Justin 1(518-27)

Justinian I (527-65)

Justin II (565-78)

Tiberius ll Constantine (578-82)

Maurice Tiberius (582-602)

Phocas(602-10)

Heraclius (610-41)

Constans II (641-68)

Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118)

John ll Comnenus( 111 8-43)

Manuel l Comnenus (1143-80)

Andronicus I Comnenus (1183-5)

Isaac I Angelus( 1185-95)

Alexius lll Angelus-Comnenus (1195-1203)

Theodore Ducas-Comnenus (1224-42), emperor of Thessalonica

John lll Ducas-Vatatzes (1222-54), emperor of Nicaea

Theodore II Ducas-Lascaris (1254-8), emperor of Nicaea

Michael VII Palaeologus (1261-82)

Andronicus II Palaeologus (1284-1328)

Andronicus III Palaeologus (1328-41)

John V Palaeologus (1341-91)

Anna of Savoy (1451-4)

Manuel II Palaeologus (1391-1423)

FRANKISH RULE

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 the Byzantin empire became fragmented, divided between Franks, Italians and Byzantines. Mainland and Aegean Greece were divided into several states. In the years immediately following the Latin conquest debased trachea of the type issued at Constantinople became widely used in central Greece and versions were produced in the Frankish kingdom of Thessalonica until its fall in 1224. The Franks also produce coins in the 1240s and 1250s in mints at Thebes and Corint bat an important part of the currency was made up of Venetian grossi English sterling pennies and deniers tournois imported from France.

In time the principal Frankish rulers came to mint their own deniers tournois, preserving the stylized castle design of the French original but putting their own names on the coins. This began in the principality of Achaea under William de Villehardouin (1246-78) in about 1262, the mint being at Clarentza. The princes of Achaea continued the issue of deniers until the reign of Robert of Taranto (1333-64). The other main issuers of deniers tournois were the dukes of Athens from the time of William de la Roche (1280-7). Their mint was at Thebes. Lesser rulers, Frankish and Byzantine, produced deniers at Lepanto Corfu Salona, Karitaina, Neopatras, Arta, Damala and Leucas. The production of counterfeit deniers, often blundered and crude, was also widespread.

ITALIAN RULE

The islands of the Aegean mostly fell under Venetian control though only a few of the families which established themselves in the archipelago issued coins. There are rare issues from Naxos and Tinos in the early fourteenth century. On Chios the Genoese Zaccaria family (1307-29), ruling by grant from the Byzantine emperor, issued Venetian-style 1/4 ducats and grossi as well as deniers toumois. Later Genoese rulers of Chios minted silver gigliati and gold ducats in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries until the Turkish conquest. On Lesbos the Gattilusio family, also ruling by Byzantine grant, minted versions of Venetian gold ducats and silver soldini in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The most extensive and important coinage produced on the Greek islands was that of Rhodes under the Knights of St John. The Grand Master Elion de Villeneuve (1319-46) began the issue of silver gigliati, based on the coin issued by the kings of Naples which was in common use in the eastern Mediterranean. The Rhodian gigliati showed on the front the grand master kneeling in prayer before a cross. The issue of gigliati, and sometimes thirds, continued until the Great Siege of Rhodes and the island's surrender to the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in 1522. Gold coinage, imitations of the Venetian ducat, became common in the fifteenth century.

In mainland Greece the issue of deniers tournois by Frankish rulers declined in the early fourteenth century, but they remained in use, joined by Venetian soldini, first manufactured in 1332. From about 1350 a new coin became dominant in Greece: the tomesello, a base-silver coin derived from the denier tournois and intended to take its place. It was minted by the Venetians, but intended for use in their colonies at Coron, Modon, Negroponte and Crete, In fact it functioned as the principal low-denomination coin in Greece until the Turkish conquest. The main higher-value coin in use was the gold Venetian ducat. Throughout the centuries of Turkish rule the cur- lency of Greece was that of the Ottoman sultans, struck at Constantinople.

INDEPENDENCE

Revolt against Turkish rule broke out in 1821 and independence was effectively achieved in 1827. Independent coinage was begun almost immediately under President John Capodistras (1827-31). The disused minting presses of the Order of St John on Malta were purchased and shipped to Aegina, where the first Greek coinage was struck. Copper coins of 1 lepton and 5, 10 and 20 lepta and a silver phoenix (= 100 lepta) were struck, all with a similar design of a phoenix rising from the ashes, to symbolize the rebirth of the nation, and the date of the Greek Revolt (1821).

THE KINGDOM OF GREECE

The first King of Greece, Otho, was chosen in 1832. He introduced the long-standing Greek monetary system of the drachma of 100 lepta. Denominations were: in copper, 1,2,5 and 10 lepta; in silver, 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 5 drachmai and in gold, 20 drachmai. Designs were straight- forward: the head of the king on the front and the coat of arms on the back of the gold and silver, and on the copper the coat of arms on the front and the value on the back. The coinage was struck at Munich, Paris and Vienna, as well as Athens.

For part of the nineteenth century the Ionian Islands were ruled by Britain, which had acquired them from Turkey in 1809-14. Two local coinages were issued. The first was based on a system of 4 lepta to the obol, and the copper lepton, obol and 2 obol were issued in 1819-21. The second, introduced in 1835, had 5 lepta to the obol and the coins issued were the lepton in copper and the 30 lepta in silver. The designs of all these coins showed the lion of Venice on the front and Britannia on the back. In 1864 the islands were handed over to Greece.

In 1862 Otho was forced to abdicate and in his place was chosen George of Holstein, who ruled as George I until 1913. There were no new coins issued until 1868 and in the meantime Greece had joined the Latin Monetary Union. Subsequent gold and silver issues were aligned to the equivalent French coins and were minted at French mints (Paris, Bordeaux and Strasbourg). Denominations issued were: in silver, 20 and 50 lepta and 1, 2 and 5 drachmai; and in gold, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 drachmai. The lepton and 2, 5 and 10 lepta were in copper. From 1893 base-metal (cupro-nickel, then nickel) was used for the 20 lepta and lesser denominations.

The issues of 1910-11 featured innovatory designs, with scenes from classical mythology replacing the national coat of arms on the backs of the coins. The silver used a scene from the lliad, copying a coin of King Pyrrhus of Epirus (295-272 Bc), and the holed base-metal coins showed either Athena or the Athenian owl.

Until 1897 Crete remained under Turkish rule. In that year it was given virtual independence under a Greek prince, George, who issued a coinage aligned to that of Greece in 1900-1. Full union with Greece came about in 1908.

Under Constantine 1 (1913-23) little current coinage was issued: only cupro-nickel 50 lepta in 1921 (minted at private mints in Britain) and aluminium 10 lepta (minted at Poissy in France) in 1922. The stormy political events of the time were not reflected in the coinage, but because so little new currency had been issued there was an acute shortage of money in the country.

THE FIRST REPUBLIC

Under the Republic of Greece (1924-35) steps were taken to remedy the situation and a new coinage was introduced, removing the royal portrait and using classical prototypes for the designs, mostly the heads of deities. The coinage was struck at the Royal Mint in London and consisted of cupro-nickel (20 and 50 lepta and 1 and 2 drachmai),
nickel (5 drachma!) and silver (10 and 20 drachmai).

RESTORATION OF MONARCHY

The monarchy was restored in 1935 but the only coins produced under George ll (1935-47) were commemorative pieces celebrating the restoration. The republican coinage circulated until 1954, when there was an issue in the name of King Paul (1947-64), with designs in the old style of the king's head on the front and the Greek arms on the back. The aluminium coins (5, 10 and 20 lepta) and the nickel 10 drachmai were struck at Berne; the silver 20 drachmai at London; and the cupro-nickel coins (50 lepta and 1, 2 and 5 drachmai) at Paris. Under Constantine II (1964-73) all the high-value coins were of cupro-nickel, struck at Prague. Coinage was issued in his name even after his failure to unseat the military regime in 1968 and his subsequent exile.

SECOND REPUBLIC

 with democracy restored to Greece, the Hellenic Republic was declared. The republican coinage initially displayed classical image such as the phoenix and Athenian owl, but from 1976 most denominations show portraits of notable figures of Greek history. The smallest denominations (50 lepta and 1 and 2 drachmai in nickel-brass) show individuals from recent Greek history whereas the larger ones (5,10, 20 and 50 drachmai in cupro-nickel) show figures from the classical past: Aristotle, Democritus, Pericles and Solon. As in most modern countries, precious-metal coins are produced to commemorate sporting events and national anniversaries.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 The coin atlas (Little, Brown and Company) ISBN : 1-85605-468-3

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