Stater
Encyclopedia
The stater was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece
.
ian origin. Celt
ic tribes brought it in to Europe after using it as mercenaries in north Greece. It circulated from the 8th century BC to 50 AD. According to Robin Lane Fox
, it was borrowed by the Euboea
ns from the Phoenicia
n shekel
, which was of about the same weight and was also a fiftieth part of a mina
.
Original mintings of this coin such as practiced in Athens
valued the stater at a tetradrachm
(4 drachms), though issues at other places or times applied the word "stater" to a didrachm
(2 drachm) coin. The stater was also minted at Corinth
. Staters were also struck in some of the Mediterranean islands such as Aegina
and Kydonia. For example, one silver coin struck in Kydonia was that of a stater featuring the Minoan
goddess Britomartis
.
There also existed a "gold stater", but it was only minted in some places, and was mainly an accounting unit worth 20-28 drachms depending on place and time, the Athenian unit being worth 20 drachms. (The reason being that one gold stater generally weighed roughly 8.5 grams, twice as much as a drachm, while the parity gold:silver, after some variance, was established as 1:10) The best known types of gold staters are the 28 drachm Kyzikenos from Cyzicus
, and the gold staters minted in Gaul
that Gallic chiefs modelled after those of Philip II of Macedonia, which mercenaries brought back West after serving in his armies, or those of Alexander and his successors.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
.
History
The stater is mostly of MacedonMacedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian origin. Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic tribes brought it in to Europe after using it as mercenaries in north Greece. It circulated from the 8th century BC to 50 AD. According to Robin Lane Fox
Robin Lane Fox
Robin Lane Fox is an English historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford and University of Oxford Reader in Ancient History.-Life:Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford....
, it was borrowed by the Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
ns from the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n shekel
Shekel
Shekel , is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency. The first usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley...
, which was of about the same weight and was also a fiftieth part of a mina
Mina (unit)
The mina is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight equivalent to 60 shekels. The mina, like the shekel, was also a unit of currency; in ancient Greece it was equal to 100 drachmae. In the first century AD, it amounted to about a fourth of the wages earned annually by an agricultural worker...
.
Original mintings of this coin such as practiced in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
valued the stater at a tetradrachm
Greek drachma
Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:...
(4 drachms), though issues at other places or times applied the word "stater" to a didrachm
Greek drachma
Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:...
(2 drachm) coin. The stater was also minted at Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
. Staters were also struck in some of the Mediterranean islands such as Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
and Kydonia. For example, one silver coin struck in Kydonia was that of a stater featuring the Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
goddess Britomartis
Britomartis
Britomartis , was the Minoan goddess of mountains and hunting. She is among the Minoan goddess figures that passed through the Mycenaeans' culture into classical Greek mythology, with transformations that are unclear in both transferrals...
.
There also existed a "gold stater", but it was only minted in some places, and was mainly an accounting unit worth 20-28 drachms depending on place and time, the Athenian unit being worth 20 drachms. (The reason being that one gold stater generally weighed roughly 8.5 grams, twice as much as a drachm, while the parity gold:silver, after some variance, was established as 1:10) The best known types of gold staters are the 28 drachm Kyzikenos from Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
, and the gold staters minted in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
that Gallic chiefs modelled after those of Philip II of Macedonia, which mercenaries brought back West after serving in his armies, or those of Alexander and his successors.