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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Olympia |
|---|---|
| Year | 260 BC - 250 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemidrachm (1/2) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Zeus facing right, rendered in archaic Greek style with finely detailed wavy hair and a full beard. The portrait is bold and naturalistic, occupying most of the obverse field. The surface displays the characteristic irregular flan typical of hammered Elean silver coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Eagle standing to left on a thunderbolt, its head turned back to the right with wings folded against the body. The eagle, a principal symbol of Zeus and the sanctuary at Olympia, is depicted in a bold, compact style. The ethnic inscription F A (digamma-alpha, abbreviation of FALEIΩN) appears flanking the eagle, with F to the left and A to the right in the field. |
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| Additional information |
Olympia functioned less as a city-state than as a sanctuary administration, and its coin issues were tied directly to the financial demands of managing the Panhellenic games and the upkeep of the Altis precinct. Issues in this size were likely produced in anticipation of festival cycles, when tens of thousands of visitors would require small-denomination silver for offerings, fees, and trade at the sanctuary market.
The BCD Peloponnesos specimen — from one of the most rigorously documented sales of Peloponnesian coinage ever assembled — confirms the type's rarity at this fractional denomination.