A Short Introduction to Ancient Greece Corinthian Stater

A Short Introduction to Ancient Greece Corinthian Stater

We have recently extended our consignment range to include Ancient and Byzantine coins, and here I have one of the quintessential Ancient Greek coinage: the Corinthian stater. The obverse depicts a flying Pegasus as well as the archaic letter koppa below pegasus’s hoof. On the reverse, we have Athena in a Corinthian helmet and a tiny figure of Artemis. Like most ancient coinage, the obverse iconography tells both literate and illiterate ancient people which state and mint the coin came from. The koppa denotes the first letter in Corinth’s name, and the mythological hero Bellerophon, who became king of Corinth, tamed Pegasus in order to slay the chimera. Because of the winged horse imagery, Corinthian staters were colloquially called hippos, or “horse”.

Other states also minted staters—the name literally means “weight”—but Corinthian staters were used more widely than the others for one main reason: they were struck to 8.60 grams—the so-called Corinthian Standard—which weighed exactly as the Athenian Didrachm. Because of this regularity in the denomination, merchants quickly took to the coin. Corinthian staters were so popular that many Corinthian colonies and other cities across Greece, Italy, and Sicily began minting the coin. Some mintmarks to look for are lambda for Leucas and Alpha for Ambracia, or the city’s full name on the reverse.

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[lo-tar]

I just started collecting numismatics and I've been looking everywhere for information n the Corinthia Stater. Thank you for explaining it so clearly and quickly!

[aadd]

A strange coin. It looks like a cast fake. There is no clear pattern. Or the quality is weak.