Stater - 94th Olympiad

Struck to commemorate the 94th Olympiad of 404 BC, these staters were issued by the sanctuary at Olympia — one of the rare instances where a religious site, rather than a city-state, exercised minting authority. The timing is striking: 404 BC marks the year Athens surrendered to Sparta, ending the Peloponnesian War after nearly three decades. The games that year proceeded under Spartan dominance, with Sparta having wrested control of the sanctuary from Elis only shortly prior.

SNG Copenhagen 379 represents the standard reference for this type, though examples vary enough in die work to reward closer attribution.