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Obol
| Issuer | Corinth |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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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 | Pegasus depicted in full flight to the left, rendered in archaic relief with characteristically curved wing raised above the body. The forelegs are extended in a dynamic galloping posture, consistent with early Corinthian artistic conventions. Below the figure, the Corinthian civic symbol koppa (Ϙ) appears in the field, serving as the city's mint identifier. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, typical of early archaic hammered coinage from this mint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Plain quadripartite incuse square divided into four triangular sections by two diagonal grooves meeting at the centre, characteristic of early archaic Greek coinage technology. The incuse punch impression is deeply struck and roughly executed, consistent with the primitive die techniques employed at Corinth during the late 6th century BC. The surface within the incuse shows an irregular granular texture resulting from the hammered striking process. No legends or subsidiary devices are present. |
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| Additional information |
Corinthian coinage of this period was among the earliest Greek silver to circulate internationally, carried west by merchants exploiting Corinth's control of both the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs. The city's diolkos — a paved overland portage route across the Isthmus — meant goods and presumably coin moved between the Aegean and Adriatic without rounding the Peloponnese, giving Corinthian issues unusual geographic reach for their size.
At roughly half a gram, obols functioned as fractional currency within a system anchored to the Corinthian stater of approximately 8.6 g.