Greek Coin

Dateca. 440 BC

Place Made DisplayLeontinoi Sicily

MediumSilver

Dimensions1 1/16 x 1 1/16 inches (2.7 x 2.7 cm)

CultureGreece

ClassificationsMetalwork

Credit LineGift of Jerry Theodorou, Class of 1979

Terms

Metalwork
Silver
Animals
Apollo
Headgear
Lions
Mythology
Greek

Object number97.018

Label CopyBefore the advent of coinage, gold and silver rings, iron rods, electrum (an alloy of gold and silver), and gold were traded for needed goods and services. Coinage first appeared around the 7th century B.C. in the Mediterranean world. The first use of state-issued coins seems to have been about a century later, and a coin's origin can usually be identified by the symbols it carries. Athena is depicted on the coins from Athens, for example, and the sea turtle is found on the coins produced on the island of Aegina. The coin presented here has the head of the god Apollo wearing a laurel, a symbol of victory, on the obverse and a lion's head on the reverse. The inscription on the reverse, "VE ON TI NION," refers to "Leontinoi," a city in Sicily and part of the wide-reaching Greek civilization. The representation of Apollo's head in profile was also adopted by various rulers, not only for coinage but also in other art forms as well. This tradition was continued through the Roman and subsequent civilizations to the present day where it can still be found, for instance, in the profile of Lincoln's head on the American penny. (From “A Handbook of the Collection: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art," 1998)

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