THE COINAGE OF SPARTA

Hundreds of different Greek cities issued coins between the birth of coined money around 650 BCE and the end of Greek civic coinage some time after 300 CE. The apparent exception was Sparta.

Many serious collectors of ancients have never seen Spartan coins. Some believe Sparta struck no coins at all. As usual in Classical Numismatics, however, there is a “Yes, but...” lurking in the weeds. Sparta issued Spartan coins, in small quantities, well after it had ceased to be a major power in the affairs of the Greek world.

Among themselves, Spartans might use awkward bundles of iron spits for legal or ceremonial transactions, but in dealings with other Greeks they had to use current money.

Areus, a member of the Agiad dynasty who ruled from 309 to 265 BCE, was the first Spartan king to issue coins in his own name. This break with tradition was driven by the need to pay mercenaries in his war against Macedonia, Sparta no longer having the manpower to raise a citizen army. Ironically, Areus’s silver tetradrachm was closely modeled on the widely circulating Macedonian coinage of Alexander, with the head of Herakles on the obverse and an image of Zeus enthroned holding an eagle on the reverse. Only the inscription “King Areus” indicates the source. Just four examples of this remarkable coin are known, three in museums.

To read the complete article, see:
Ancient Coins: What about Spartan coins ? (https://coinweek.com/featured-news/ancient-spartan-coins/)

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