The Olympics will begin soon so I thought I would share this coin from my collection. It was minted specifically for the Olympic games circa 450's BC. Elis, Olympia. Circa 450's BC. AR stater - 22mm, 11.44 g. Eagle flying right, grasping a hare by the belly, (belly up) / F-A, winged thunderbolt; all in incuse circle. Seltman 55 (AH/an); BCD -. Near VF, banker's mark on obverse, choice flan. Very rare. The eagle on the obverse represents Zeus's eagle. The F-A on the reverse stands for "of the Eleans". Elis was the ancient district in which the sanctuary of Olympia resided. These coins were very likely minted in the Olympic sanctuary. The reason for the reference to Zeus on the coin would be because of the Temple of Zeus at the Olympic sanctuary. In addition to being an important temple in the Greek world, it also housed the statue of Zeus made by the famous sculptor Pheidias. This statue was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The first Olympic coins were minted around 471 BC. So this coin is a fairly early example. The exact start date of the Olympic games is not known, but written records start at 776 BC. The Olympics continued until 391 AD when the Emperor Theodosius ended the games. Of the four big sanctuaries - Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea - that hosted crown games during the Classical period, only Olympia had a regular coinage that was associated with its festival. This coinage would serve as the only legal tender during the games. All foreign coins had to be exchanged. This exchange was done for a fee which went to pay for the upkeep of the sanctuary at Olympia. Besides being a source of income for the sanctuary, this exchange to a common currency made commerce easier as the home currencies of the various visitors were sometimes based on different weight standards. A common currency was also needed because one of the great attractions of the Olympic Festival was the vast market or fair that took place there at the same time as the games, drawing an immense audience of buyers and sellers from all over the Greek world. The fact that there were a wide variety of denominations of Olympic coinage - staters (or didrachms), drachms, hemidrachms and obols - shows that these coins were for commerce and were not just souvenirs as was once thought. This is one of my favorite coins. I can imagine someone having this coin in their pocket or coin pouch and watching the Olympic Games, or strolling around the festival, some 2458 years ago. .
Thanks guys! I thought it an appropriate time to post it. The pictures are the seller's, my photographic technique isn't quite there yet.
