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Corinthian silver stater

ca. 540 BC

Diam. 2.3 cm / Weight 8.3 gr.

Collection Number Ν 598

Coinage appeared in Greece in the mid-6th c. BC. The earliest coins were minted by city-states which were actively involved in maritime trade, such as Aegina, Corinth and Athens. In the main side they bore the symbol of the city, while on the obverse they had a simple stamp to guarantee the purity of the metal.

Here we see an early silver stater from Corinth. The main side is decorated with Pegasus, the winged horse, accompanied by the acrophonic initial koppa (q) of the ethnic name (Corinthians). The revesed has a swastika-shaped incuse.

The winged horse Pegasus leapt from the body of Gorgon, when Perseus beheaded her. It was tamed and bridled by Bellerophon with the help of goddess Athena. Pegasus was the sacred symbol of Corinth. The coins of Corinthian colonies in Italy had also Pegasus on the main side, accompanied by their own ethnic initial.

PUBLICATION
– Sourlas D. 2006. Catalogue no. 155, in Choremi-Spetsieri Α. – Zarkadas Α. (eds), The Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum. Ancient Art, Athens, 244.