There are three different points in time that Ancient Greek coins are divided into. The first period of time for the history of ancient Greek coins is known as the Archaic period. This particular period of time expands from when coinage first appeared in the Greek World in 600 BCE until 480 BE which was when the Persian wars erupted. After this, the next period of time that existed was the Classical period for Greek coins, and this period endured until Alexander the Great appeared in 330 BC.
The third period is the Hellenistic period, which drew out until the Romans preoccupied the Greek world in the 1st century BCE. The Greek cities extended in order to create their own coins for additional cities under the rule of Rome. These coins were each completely handmade, and they depicted a wide variety of different scenes, buildings, figureheads and symbols.
All of the Ancient Greek coins were created by hand unlike how modern day coins are made. Ancient Greek coins were eventually invented in a kingdom known as Lydia, which is now known as Turkey, during 620 BCE. When the Ancient Greeks began to create Greek coins from the very start, these coins had a number of different figures, inscriptions and symbols that were specifically designed to exemplify the independence of the poleis.
Even though the Greeks were under the command of Hellenistic kings or autocrats, the Greeks were always generally independent in nature. Their coins were a great way for them to substantiate their independence throughout their history. In other words, Ancient Greek coins are a symbol of independence among a people that struggled with independence for many centuries. Ancient Greek coins are made up of historic pictures and symbols and are now perceived as being artistic, lending to the history of a true art. The examples of the oldest Greek coins are capable of including a lot of sanctified temples and buildings, and this permits individuals to understand how grand those buildings once were in Greek history and lore.
Greek coins, then, were a lot more than a simple system of commerce or a collection of carved or stamped metal. The purpose of Greek coins had so much more to do with independence and religious pride, meaning that they are extremely meaningful as history of art, and the history of a people that struggled for independence and flourished for many years despite being under the rule of others, including Hellenistic kings and the Romans. If you are looking for a type of collection that you can be proud to have in your possession, consider collecting Greek coins so that you can learn the history of a unique people and revel in the signs and symbols of their fight for independence. The more you learn about Greek coins, the better you will be able to benefit from collecting these unique coins.
Photo Credits: I likE plants!
Originally posted 2009-07-24 05:27:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Russian Coins Coins & Paper Money -> Coins: World -> Russia Russian coins have recently become a popular investment, with many of the popular dealers selling out of supplies, and some older and more rare coins earning over $45,000 at auction. Many people gave up on Russian coin collecting in 2007 because...... -
Determining Rare Coin Values in Your Collection When you are deciding whether or not you would like to add a specific coin to your collection, one of the things that you are going to want to take into account is rare coin values. The rare coin values that you find will ultimately be determined by availability of...... -
Roman Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins: Ancient -> Roman: Republic When it comes to collecting coins or paper money, many prefer to go straight to roman coins. These are highly historic collectibles that may actually be worth a good deal of money and many are quite rare. When you consider...... -
Military Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins US -> Coins - World Whether you were once in the military, or you are a collector all of things militaria, military coins are a great and valuable item to start amassing. There are many different kinds of military coins that are currently available...... -
Buffalo Nickels Coins and Paper Money -> Coins - US -> Nickels -> Buffalo (1913-1938): 1913-19, 1920-29, 1930-38, Mixed Lots The popular US coin called the Buffalo Nickel was only minted from 1913 to 1938, but it quickly became one of the most popular coins and certainly one of the most collectible.......
Related Websites -
History of Postage Stamp Collecting With the creation of the postage stamp came the birth of the concept of postage stamp collecting. This occurred just shortly after the first postage stamps were introduced in the year 1840 by Great Britain. Plilately, the study of postage stamp collecting has been derived from phileo, the Greek word...... -
Collecting Rare Collectibles 102 Rare collectibles are items that are perceived to be hard to find by a collectible, and they may also be antique in nature seeing as many antique collectibles are also rare collectibles. Any item that has a high quality craftsmanship, that is relatively old in nature and that reflects the...... -
Collectible elongated coins When I was still in elementary school, I remember a day when a passenger train was coming into town. There hadn't been a passenger train in town for a long time, so this was a big event. Prior to the train's arrival I put a penny on the railroad tracks....... -
Don't Let Desperation Destroy Your Financial Future There are more people in debt across the nation today than at any other time period in history, as many people have been using credit to spend beyond their means and purchase large homes that they can not afford. Many of these people are now having trouble paying all of...... -
Cat Collectibles Collectibles -> Animals -> Cat-Domestic The history of cat collectibles goes back much farther than you probably realize. Cats were revered in Ancient Egypt where citizens did more than collect cat-related items, they collected the cats themselves. So far, over 300,000 mummified cats have been found buried in ancient tombs.......
