GREEK COINS
The Birth of Money and Image
Marco J. RowenPart of Volume I The Coins of the Ancient World
Every coin in circulation today descends from a single idea: a lump of natural gold and silver, struck between two dies in the hills of ancient Lydia. Greek Coins: The Birth of Money and Image follows that idea across three and a half centuries and twelve city mints, from its first appearance to the moment coinage became art. Chapter by chapter, this richly illustrated history moves mint by mint through the coinage that shaped the ancient Mediterranean: the silent electrum of Sardis, the sea turtle of Aegina, the owl that made Athens recognizable on sight, the ever-changing tunny of Kyzikos struck for two centuries, the signed masterworks of classical Syracuse, the royal archer coinage of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the dolphin rider of Taras struck in the last years before Rome's conquest of southern Italy. Each chapter pairs historical narrative with detailed technical and archaeological insights, covering weight standards, metal composition, die studies, and the context behind each type. Inside: - Twelve chapters, one per mint, tracing the spread of coinage across the Greek world from Lydia to Magna Graecia - A Reader's Cabinet with realistic collecting guidance: price ranges, authenticity red flags, and where to look for each type at every budget level - An Analytical Register with a full glossary, a monetary timeline, a mint gazetteer, and weight-standard comparison tables - A complete image credits appendix - Every coin reproduced in full color, obverse and reverse, from high-resolution museum photography Volume I of Coins of the Ancient World. Marco J. Rowen writes history through the objects that paid for it.
