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Stater (Coin) Depicting a Shield

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

379-338 BCE

Artist:

Greek; minted in Thebes, Boeotia

About this artwork

The use of coins as a form of money was invented in western Asia Minor in the early 7th century BCE. At the time this coin was struck, Greece was made up of separate city-states that issued their own currency. Made of gold, silver, bronze, and electrum (a gold-silver alloy), coins were literally worth their weight, but their value varied according to the percentage of their precious metal content. Occasionally a city needed more money than it had in reserves. By reducing the amount of precious metal and substituting a base metal, a coin could be
produced of the same weight but no longer of the same value. Some currency was only honored within its own city walls, but trustworthy money encouraged trade. Athens had the biggest economy, and its coin became the standard in the Greek world.

The population was largely illiterate, but it could identify the place of origin of a coin by its imagery. Many of these images referred to myths that were associated with the history of the community and thus were well known to the populace from religious ceremonies and theatrical entertainment. The story of a city’s founding, a local hero, the city’s guardian deity, and even the reason for the city’s wealth were subjects for a coin’s insignia.

The distinctive shield shown on the front (obverse) of this coin was particular to the Theban army. It remained a symbol of the city for centuries until 335 BCE, when the city was razed for opposing Alexander the Great, and its citizens, who used this coinage, were enslaved. The back (reverse) of this coin depicts a volute krater with wreath above.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Stater (Coin) Depicting a Shield

Place

Thívai (Minted in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Struck 379 BCE–338 BCE

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Reverse: ΔΑ ΜΟ

Dimensions

Diam.: 2.5 cm (1 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

Reference Number

1922.4913

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5739/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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