Stater 128th-132nd Olympiad

These staters were struck by the sanctuary authorities at Olympia specifically for the quadrennial festival cycle, not for general commerce. The Eleans controlled the mint at Olympia and issued coins in tight, Games-aligned batches — a production rhythm with almost no parallel in the Greek world. The window covering the 128th through 132nd Olympiads coincides with a period when Macedonian power under Antigonus II Gonatas was reshaping political alignments across the Peloponnese, yet Elis maintained its traditional role as guardian of the sanctuary with remarkable continuity.

Seltman's die study remains the foundational reference for sequencing these issues, his temple series numbering still the standard despite subsequent revisions by later scholars.