Ancient Greek coinage
The first metal money antiquity was used around 2000 BC in the Mediterranean. These were to Pet miniatures made of bronze. The fact that the metallic money in the aftermath quickly covered, should be based mainly in the fact that the swap transactions that have been made up to that point, had only very imprecise and invited especially to deceive outright. Coins is easier to trade significantly. They had the advantage of always have the same size, same weight and same appearance and instead can be counted weighed.
The first coins were issued by the BC Lydians in the west of present-day Turkey between 650 and 620 as cash and beaten from electron under King Alyattes II. In this case, it was lumpy, natural electron Nuggets, who bore the royal seal. Pictorial representations on coins came on to 620 BC. This was followed by coins in gold in various sizes and values in order to facilitate the payment of mercenaries. These gold dust of a certain amount was merged into coins and embossed with a picture of the king. The last Lydian king Croesus thus came into the reputation of being immensely rich.
The first silver coins were minted around 550 BC in Asia Minor and on the island of Aegina. They carried the image of a lion or Stierprotome (Asia Minor ); on the coins of the Greek island of Aegina, a sea turtle has been mapped. Shortly afterwards, also shaped Athens and Corinth coins.
Long the coins from Aegina remained ( " turtles "), and from Corinth ( " Foal " ) and Athens ( "owls" ), the dominant means of payment of early Greece. In many Greek colonies coins were minted. Syracuse in Sicily had the most pronounced Münzkultur outside of Greece proper. Until about 400 BC in BC, the coin prevailed throughout Greece as opposed to exchange trading. However, there was no single Greek coinage, but several regions where dominated one Münzfamilie. But slowly built the 17 -gram Athenian tetradrachm with its subdivisions ( Stater, Drachmon, Diobolos, Trihemiobolos, Obolos Hemiobolos, Tetartemorion ) and larger units to ten or twelve drachmas a dominant position on. Until 400 BC the maturity of the craftsmanship representations increased on the coins, although images of the gods and sacred animals remained on the determining motives. The more primitive methods embossing with a hammer on an anvil meant that many coins of this period are characterized only incomplete and have cracked edges.
The representation of rulers on coins continued in the Greek area and the Diadochenreichen after Alexander the Great by. Silver remained the dominant raw material, to the smaller silver coins were replaced by bronze coins. This is the first coins. Under Roman rule the Greek cities of the minting of coins of copper or bronze was only allowed. Cityscapes, mythological motifs or representations of artists and scholars were the rule. Silver coins have been set by the Roman occupation forces in circulation.