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Stater
| Issuer | Kroton |
|---|---|
| Year | 530 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Stater (3) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | A tripod in high relief, its legs terminating in lion's paw feet and resting upon a three-line base, occupies the central field. The tripod is rendered with fine archaic detail, including the bowl and ring handles. To the right of the tripod stands a heron facing left, depicted in profile. The ethnic inscription ϘPO appears in the field, referencing the mint city of Kroton. The design reflects the distinctive Achaean incuse coinage tradition of Magna Graecia. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ϘPO |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Kroton's early staters belong to the incuse coinage tradition unique to the Greek colonies of southern Italy — a technique in which the reverse reproduces the obverse design in hollow relief, a method used almost exclusively in this region and almost nowhere else in the ancient world. The origin of this convention is still debated, but it appears across Sybaris, Metapontion, Kroton, and a handful of neighboring mints simultaneously around 550–530 BC, suggesting a monetary agreement or shared workshop practice rather than independent invention.
Kroton was a Achaean colony with considerable athletic prestige — Milo of Kroton, six-time Olympic wrestling champion, was a citizen. The city destroyed Sybaris in 510 BC, after which the incuse coinage of that neighbor abruptly ceased.