The Hellenic (Greek) Drachma is a former basic unit of currency in Greece, and it was an ancient currency unit used in many Greek city-states. The meaning of DRACHMA is any of various ancient Hellenic (Greek) units of weight.
The drachma is a coin with a value of six obols. The term drachma means "handful"—in other words, it was considered a handful of obols. Various denominations of the drachma were made—the octadrachm, tetradrachm, didrachm, and drachm among them.
Thanks to rich silver deposits discovered at Laurion in Attica in 483 BCE, Athens's abundant “owl” tetradrachms became the dominant trade coin in the ancient world for over a century.
Produced in small numbers, some of these coins are known from only a handful of dies. The main denomination was the didrachm or stater of about 8.6 grams. Also issued were drachms (4.3 grams), obols (0.7 grams), and tiny half-obols (0.3 grams). About 14 1/8 different designs exist, with no inscription. The designs were changed annually.
About the year 515, Athens began to strike a larger denomination to meet the needs of its growing economy, the tetradrachm of 17.2 grams.
This coin, like the obol, first appeared in Aegina after 600 BCE but quickly spread to other regions of Greece. One central region was Athens, notable for its significant wealth and the volume of coins that have been recovered and studied. The 19th-century German numismatists named the earliest series of Athenian coins, Wappenmunzen or "badge coins." This theory was based on the conclusion that such symbols appearing on these coins were heraldic badges of the city's leading aristocratic families. However, most classical numismatists now doubt this. Many of these designs also appear on Athenian painted pottery and the shields carried by warriors. Produced in small numbers, some of these coins are known from only a handful of dies.
The drachma is a coin with a value of six obols. The term drachma means "handful"—in other words, it was considered a handful of obols. Various denominations of the drachma were made—the octadrachm, tetradrachm, didrachm, and drachm among them.
Thanks to rich silver deposits discovered at Laurion in Attica in 483 BCE, Athens's abundant “owl” tetradrachms became the dominant trade coin in the ancient world for over a century.
Produced in small numbers, some of these coins are known from only a handful of dies. The main denomination was the didrachm or stater of about 8.6 grams. Also issued were drachms (4.3 grams), obols (0.7 grams), and tiny half-obols (0.3 grams). About 14 1/8 different designs exist, with no inscription. The designs were changed annually.
About the year 515, Athens began to strike a larger denomination to meet the needs of its growing economy, the tetradrachm of 17.2 grams.
This coin, like the obol, first appeared in Aegina after 600 BCE but quickly spread to other regions of Greece. One central region was Athens, notable for its significant wealth and the volume of coins that have been recovered and studied. The 19th-century German numismatists named the earliest series of Athenian coins, Wappenmunzen or "badge coins." This theory was based on the conclusion that such symbols appearing on these coins were heraldic badges of the city's leading aristocratic families. However, most classical numismatists now doubt this. Many of these designs also appear on Athenian painted pottery and the shields carried by warriors. Produced in small numbers, some of these coins are known from only a handful of dies.
Athenian "badge coin" featuring a Gorgon
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Most of the "badge coins" were didrachm, which weighed about eight and one-half grams. These coins had a variety of types on the obverse and an imprint on the reverse. The possible obverse stamps include owls, horse protomes, amphoras, horse's hindquarters, wheels, bettles, Gorgons, bull's heads, astragalos, and triskelis. Eventually, the didrachm became far less common than the tetradrachm. The decline of the didrachm was attributed to a shift from internal use, which would require smaller denominations to be used on a day-to-day basis, to use for foreign trade, which would require larger denominations to purchase more significant quantities of goods.
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While Athenian tetradrachm in the archaic period varied considerably, it remained largely the same between the fifth and third centuries. All tetradrachma during this time featured Athena wearing a diadem of olive leaves on the obverse and an owl on the reverse, with a small lunar crescent behind it. Minor details that changed included four small olive leaves added to Athena's helmet around 475 BCE, eventually becoming only three leaves. Additionally, Athena's head became more prominent over time, and minor changes were made in the owl's posture (from upright to diagonal) and the sprig of olive (a berry sandwiched between two leaves at right angles).
An Athenian tetradrachma
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A significant change in Athens's drachma occurred due to the great cost of the Peloponnesian war. The local sources of silver, which had once been highly plentiful, were depleted. As a result, the currency standard had to be shifted from silver to gold to produce enough money to finance the war. One gold drachma weighed the same as a silver drachma but had twelve times the value. Because of its high value, gold was impractical for small daily transactions, however. The high value of gold was a significant factor in introducing bronze coins for smaller denominations that were more useful for internal trade.
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Sources:
Jenkins, G.K. Ancient Greek Coins (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972).
Kraay, Colin M. Archaic and Classical Greek Coins (London: Methuen and Co. LTD, 1976).
Jenkins, G.K. Ancient Greek Coins (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972).
Kraay, Colin M. Archaic and Classical Greek Coins (London: Methuen and Co. LTD, 1976).