ancientcoins:An exceptionally rare gold stater of Athens, minted during the Peloponnesian War when t
ancientcoins:An exceptionally rare gold stater of Athens, minted during the Peloponnesian War when the city ran out of silver. The coin shows the typical obverse with the goddess Athena and the reverse showing Athena’s owl, the letters AΘE, which are the first three in the name Athens, as well as the olive branch, the sacred tree of Athena and her special gift to the city according to legend.Athens throughout its history minted drachmas (more properly drachmata) and tetradrachms (the more common four drachma piece) in silver. Athens had access to silver mines in Attica and controlled its supply tightly. However, as the Peloponnesian War went on, Athens suffered losses at the hands of the Spartans that led to the loss of its important silver mines at Laurion. Athens needed to continue to pay for its supplies, in particular for its ships, since the strength of Athens has always been in its navy. Accordingly in 407-6, for a very short period just at the end of the war, Athens struck gold staters to pay their debts.They resorted to melting down objects dedicated to the gods, rather than default on what they owed. The existence of this coin, even in the small numbers which they are known, demonstrates physically a level of desperation that Athens had never known before. -- source link