Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Stater - 92nd Olympiad Variety 1
| Issuer | Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | BCD Olympia#71, Seltman Temple#257, HGC 5#347 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A boldly rendered winged and flaming thunderbolt shown upright in the center of the field, its central shaft flanked by symmetrical voluted wings and flame tips issuing from both ends, the whole executed in high sculptural relief. The archaic digamma (F) appears to the left of the thunderbolt shaft and the letter alpha (A) to the right, together forming the abbreviated ethnic of Elis (FA for FALEIOI). The entire design is enclosed within a finely detailed olive wreath whose curling leaves and berries fill the circular border, referencing the sacred olive of the Altis at Olympia. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Olympia (Elis) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Olympian sanctuary issues are among the most debated in Greek numismatics regarding issuing authority — the coins were almost certainly produced to facilitate commerce during the festival itself, held every four years, rather than as a civic currency. The 92nd Olympiad fell in 412 BC, deep into the Peloponnesian War, a moment when Sparta and Athens were both courting Persian money and the sanctuary's nominal neutrality was under considerable strain.
Seltman's temple classification remains the foundational typological framework for this series, though BCD's collection work substantially refined the die linkage picture.