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Obol
| Issuer | Metapontion |
|---|---|
| Year | 540 BC - 510 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 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 |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A stylized ear of barley rendered in high relief, oriented vertically and centrally positioned within the field. The grain head displays prominent lateral spikelets fanning outward symmetrically from the central rachis, with a long straight stem below. The design is encircled by a border of raised pellets, characteristic of early Achaean colonial coinage from Metapontion. The overall composition reflects the archaic Italiote style of the late sixth century BC, in which the city's emblematic grain motif served as both civic symbol and religious reference to Demeter. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An incuse ear of barley rendered in intaglio, mirroring the obverse type in sunken relief as is characteristic of the early Achaean incuse coinage technique. The grain head with its fanned spikelets and elongated stem is deeply impressed into the flan, producing a negative image of the obverse design. A border of pellets surrounds the incuse field. This incuse technique, associated with the Pythagorean school of coin design in Magna Graecia, is a hallmark of the earliest coinage of Metapontion and its neighboring Achaean colonies. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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