Museum objects
1 shown · 5 cited but not shown. An image only appears here if it is openly
licensed and confirmed to depict the object we claim. Otherwise we cite it and link you to
the museum — we would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
Athenian Owl Tetradrachm
British Museum · 1905,0309.2 · c. 449-413 BCE
A silver four-drachma coin from Athens stamped with the goddess Athena on one side and her sacred owl on the other.
This is the coin that taught the ancient world to trust a stranger's stamp instead of weighing metal by hand — the moment money stopped being a substance and started being a promise.
Athenian Dekadrachm
British Museum · G.3183 · c. 467-465 BCE
An extremely rare ten-drachma silver coin, one of the largest denominations Athens ever struck.
Big coins for big moments — this one was minted when Athens wanted the world to see its silver mines were the richest on earth.
Silver Tetradrachm of Athens
Metropolitan Museum of Art · 330160 · 5th century BCE
Classic owl tetradrachm held in the Metropolitan Museum's Greek and Roman collection.
Every version of this coin found anywhere in the ancient world is proof of how far Athenian trust traveled on four grams of silver.
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95.129
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Athenian Tetradrachm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston · 95.129 · 5th century BCE
An owl tetradrachm held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Another surviving witness to Athens' silver empire, quietly sitting in a case thousands of years after the mines went cold.
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NM 1301/1999
Numismatic Museum of Athens
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Silver Ten-Drachm of Athens
Numismatic Museum of Athens · NM 1301/1999 · c. 467-465 BCE
A dekadrachm held at the Numismatic Museum in Athens, in the very city that struck it.
This coin never left home — it's the rare case where the money and its origin story sit in the same room, 2,500 years later.
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1866,1201.3669
British Museum
image failed verification (wrong object) — cited, not shown
View it at the museum ↗
Lydian Electrum Stater
British Museum · 1866,1201.3669 · c. 600 BCE
One of the earliest coins ever struck, made from a natural gold-silver alloy in the kingdom of Lydia.
Before Alexandros had a face or a name, this rough lump of stamped metal was the very first draft of the idea of money.
Primary sources
The documents themselves. We link and quote — that is citation, and it needs no licence.
The Athenian Agora, Vol. XXVI: The Greek Coins
academic_publication · 1993 · John H. Kroll · American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Definitive scholarly catalogue of coins excavated from the Athenian Agora.
A giant academic book that catalogues every ancient coin ever dug up in the middle of Athens.
Greek Coins
academic_publication · 1966 · Colin Kraay & Max Hirmer · Internet Archive
Landmark photographic and scholarly survey of ancient Greek coinage.
A classic photo book showing what ancient Greek coins actually looked like.
Athens's oldest coins reveal ancient, widespread silver trade
news_article · 2020 · Science.org · Science.org
Scientific analysis of trace elements in early Athenian coins tracing the silver's origin.
Scientists tested old coins to figure out exactly which mines the silver came from — like a DNA test for money.
Thorikos Project Archive
archive · Ongoing · Ghent University · Thorikos Project
Archaeological research archive on the Laurion silver-mining district that funded Athenian coinage.
Records from the actual ancient silver mines that paid for Athens' coins.
Mapping Ancient Athens
digital_archive · 2018 · Dipylon Society · Dipylon Society
GIS-based digital mapping project reconstructing the topography of ancient Athens, including the mint and agora.
A digital map that recreates ancient Athens street by street, showing exactly where the money was made and spent.
Where this money travelled
Alexandros' silver drachma began in the mines south of Athens and traveled along trade routes reaching from Egypt to Central Asia, becoming the first truly international currency.
Athens Mint37.9738, 23.7275
Laurion Silver Mines37.7068, 24.0378
Cape Sounion37.6500, 24.0231
Alexandria, Egypt31.2001, 29.9187
Persepolis, Persia29.9346, 52.8916
Bactria (Central Asia)36.7000, 66.9000
What we don't know
The page no competitor will build.
- 5 of 6 objects on this page are cited but not shown — either the rights are not cleared, or we could not verify that an available image really depicts the object. We would rather show you nothing than show you the wrong thing.
