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Stater - 101st Olympiad
| Issuer | Elis, Olympia Sanctuary |
|---|---|
| Year | 376 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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) | BCD Peloponnesos#638 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Zeus's eagle, the sacred bird of Olympia, depicted standing to the right with its head turned sharply to the left in alert posture, wings tightly folded against the body. The eagle stands upon a rocky ground line rendered in low relief. The entire device is encircled by a laurel wreath, its leaves and berries rendered with careful detail, filling the coin's field to the edge. The composition reflects the canonical Elean reverse type associated with the Olympic Games coinage series of the 4th century BC. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Elean staters issued for specific Olympiads were not standing currency in any conventional sense — they were minted in direct connection with the quadrennial festival cycle, tied to the financial operations of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. The 101st Olympiad fell in 376 BC, a period when Elis had recently emerged from a bruising war with Sparta that ended in 371 BC's aftermath being prefigured by Spartan dominance — Elis had already been stripped of control over several perioikic communities by Sparta earlier in the century.
BCD 638 is a well-documented specimen within the Rhousopoulos-to-BCD collecting lineage, a pedigree that itself anchors attribution for this Olympiad series.