Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Hemidrachm Megalopolis
| Issuer | Arcadian League |
|---|---|
| Year | 330 BC - 275 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Laureate head of Zeus facing left, rendered in fine archaic style with thick wavy locks of hair and beard flowing elaborately around the face. The deity's powerful features are boldly modeled in high relief, with a prominent brow, aquiline nose, and full beard. A laurel wreath crowns the head. The flan is irregular and slightly oval, typical of the Arcadian League hemidrachm series. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Arcadian League was founded in 370 BC following the Theban general Epaminondas's shattering defeat of Sparta at Leuctra, a battle that ended Spartan dominance over the Peloponnese and opened the door for a federated Arcadian state with Megalopolis as its newly built capital. The city was literally constructed for the purpose — synoikized from dozens of surrounding villages to anchor the new political order against Spartan resurgence.
By the time this hemidrachm was struck, the League's cohesion was already fracturing. Mantinea defected within a generation of the federation's founding.