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Hemidrachm - 111st-114th Olympiad
| Issuer | Olympia |
|---|---|
| Year | 336 BC - 324 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | SNG Lockett#2432 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | An eagle depicted standing to the right with head turned sharply to the left, wings slightly raised, perched atop a thunderbolt rendered horizontally across the lower field. The thunderbolt, an attribute of Zeus and the principal cult symbol of Olympia, is shown with stylized flame-like projections at each end. The composition is boldly conceived in high relief, filling the irregular flan, with no exergue line or surrounding inscription. The design is characteristic of the Elean sanctuary coinage struck for the great quadrennial festival. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
These hemidrachms were struck at Olympia during the period that saw Philip II's assassination and Alexander's seizure of power — the sanctuary continuing to mint as if the political convulsions of the Macedonian court were someone else's problem. The games themselves provided the economic occasion: coinage issued at Olympia served the festival economy, changing hands among traders and pilgrims who converged on the sanctuary every four years.
The SNG Lockett reference traces this piece to the collection of Richard Cyril Lockett, whose dispersal sale ran across multiple sessions from 1955 to 1961 and remains one of the landmark Greek coin auctions of the twentieth century.