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Stater - 86th Olympiad
| Issuer | Olympia |
|---|---|
| Year | 436 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | An eagle shown in dynamic left-facing flight with wings fully spread, its detailed feathering rendered with exceptional sculptural quality for the period. The bird clutches a writhing serpent firmly in its talons while simultaneously gripping the serpent's body in its hooked beak, a motif emblematic of divine power and victory. The design fills the characteristic irregular leaf-shaped flan of the Olympia stater, the incuse field preserving tool marks from the hammering process. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Olympia did not function as a city-state and held no permanent mint. These staters were struck specifically for the quadrennial festival cycle, almost certainly produced on-site to facilitate the enormous commercial activity surrounding the Games — prize money, dedications, mercenary pay, and trade among the tens of thousands who descended on the sanctuary. The 86th Olympiad fell in 436 BC, a period when Elis had consolidated control over the sanctuary and its administration following the First Peloponnesian War.
Seltman's temple classification places this piece within a tightly sequenced die study that remains the foundational reference for the series, subsequently refined by the BCD collection sale.