Ancient
40 entries
Lydian Stater
The first true coin in history. Minted by King Alyattes in the kingdom of Lydia, in what is now Turk...
Athenian Owl Tetradrachm
The most famous coin of the ancient Greek world. Featured Athena on the obverse and her sacred owl o...
Roman Denarius
The backbone of the Roman economy for 450 years. One denarius equaled one days wage for a laborer or...
Roman Aureus
The standard gold coin of Imperial Rome. Worth 25 silver denarii. Augustus established the regular m...
Chinese Cash Coin
The longest-lived coin design in history, produced for over 2,000 years. Round with a square hole, r...
Persian Daric
The gold coin of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Featured a kneeling king holding a bow and spear. Na...
Carthaginian Shekel
The silver coin of ancient Carthage in North Africa. Featured the goddess Tanit on the obverse and a...
Greek Obol
A small silver coin worth one sixth of a drachma. The obol was the daily wage of a rower in the Athe...
Aegina Turtle
The first widely traded Greek coin, minted on the island of Aegina. Featured a sea turtle on the obv...
Corinthian Pegasus
Featured Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, on the obverse. Corinth was a major commercia...
Syracuse Dekadrachm
Considered by many numismatists to be the most beautiful Greek coin ever minted. Featured a chariot ...
Bactrian Coin
The coins of the Greco Bactrian Kingdom in modern Afghanistan and Central Asia. These coins show a r...
Tally Coins of Lydia
The earliest electrum coins before King Croesus introduced pure gold and silver. These crude coins w...
Corinthian Stater Detail
See Corinthian Pegasus entry for full details....
Roman Sestertius
The large bronze coin of Imperial Rome, worth four asses. The sestertius was the main coin of everyd...
Roman As
The basic bronze coin of the Roman Republic. Originally cast, not struck, weighing one Roman pound. ...
Greek Didrachm
A two drachma silver coin. The didrachm was used for larger transactions. Many Greek colonies in Ita...
Greek Tetradrachm
The standard large silver coin of the Greek world, worth four drachmai. The Athenian owl tetradrachm...
Greek Drachma
The basic silver coin of ancient Greece. Originally a handful of iron spits called oboloi. Six obols...
Seleucid Tetradrachm
The silver coin of the Seleucid Empire, which ruled from Syria to Afghanistan after Alexanders death...
Ptolemaic Tetradrachm
The coinage of Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great. Featured the kings portrait on the obverse...
Parthian Drachm
The silver coin of the Parthian Empire, Romes great rival in the East. Featured the king in Parthian...
Persian Siglos
The silver coin of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Featured the king as a half kneeling archer, simil...
Lydian Croeseid
The coins of King Croesus of Lydia, who introduced pure gold and silver coins replacing electrum. Th...
Greek Stater
A generic term for the standard coin of a Greek city-state. The stater could be gold, silver, or ele...
Greek Hecte
A small electrum coin worth one sixth of a stater. Minted primarily at Kyzikos, a Greek city on the ...
Celtic Gold Stater
The gold coins of the Celtic tribes of Gaul and Britain. Modeled on the gold stater of Philip II of ...
Macedonian Stater
The gold coins of Philip II and Alexander the Great. Philips staters featured Apollo on the obverse ...
Punic Coinage
The coinage of Carthage blended Phoenician, Greek, and Egyptian traditions. Featured the goddess Tan...
Indian Punch Mark Coin
The earliest coinage of India, made by punching symbols onto silver bars. Each symbol represented a ...
Achaemenid Siglos
See Persian Siglos entry. The Achaemenid siglos was the silver workhorse of the Persian Empire. Over...
Bactrian Tetradrachm
See Bactrian Coin entry. The Bactrian tetradrachms of Eucratides I were the largest ancient silver c...
Indo-Greek Coin
Coins of the Indo-Greek kingdoms that ruled parts of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India after t...
Roman Aureus Detail
See Roman Aureus entry. The aureus was minted at 40 to the Roman pound under Augustus, weighing abou...
Tyrian Shekel
The silver shekel of Tyre was the most trusted silver coin in the eastern Mediterranean. Featured Me...
Hebrew Prutah
The small bronze coin of Judea under the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties. Featured Jewish symbols i...
Maccabean Coin
Coins of the Hasmonean dynasty founded by the Maccabean revolt. Featured Jewish symbols including th...
Herodian Coin
Coins of Herod the Great and his successors. Featured Greek and Roman imagery alongside Jewish symbo...
Cowrie Shell
Cowrie shells were used as currency across Africa, Asia, and Oceania for thousands of years. The mon...
Salt Money
Salt was used as currency across many cultures. Roman soldiers received a salt ration called salariu...