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Stater
| Issuer | Aegina |
|---|---|
| Year | 480 BC - 457 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered, Incuse |
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| Obverse description | Sea turtle depicted in high relief, seen from above, facing upward with head raised and four splayed limbs extended symmetrically. The carapace is rendered with a row of five pellets along the central spine, conveying naturalistic detail characteristic of the Aeginetan style. The creature's segmented neck and compact head are clearly articulated, with the tail visible at the lower edge. The flan is broad and slightly irregular, with a smooth, unlettered field surrounding the central device. No legend or inscription appears on the obverse, consistent with early Archaic Greek coinage practice. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Incuse square divided into eight triangular and rectangular compartments by a bold skew pattern of raised ridges, forming a distinctive mill-sail or windmill design characteristic of Aeginetan staters of the early Classical period. The deeply recessed square is the result of the incuse punch technique employed by the Aeginetan mint. The compartments display varying surface textures, some smooth and others lightly striated. No legend or inscription is present. The irregular flan exhibits slight cracking along one edge, consistent with the hammered production technique of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Aegina was the first Greek polis to strike coinage on a wide scale, and the "Aeginetan standard" — the weight system this stater embodies — became the dominant commercial weight across much of the Peloponnese and central Greece for over a century. The date range here spans the period immediately following Salamis, where Aeginetan ships played a conspicuous role against the Persian fleet, through to the island's forced submission to Athens in 457 BC, after which Aegina was compelled to join the Delian League and its independent monetary influence began to collapse.
SNG Copenhagen 507 places this among the later "Late Archaic" turtle series, distinguished from earlier issues by the segmented shell reverse punch.