metrological notes on the ancient electrum coins struck between the lelantian wars and the accession...

8/12/2019 Metrological notes on the ancient electrum coins struck between the Lelantian wars and the accession of Darius /

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XVIII.

METROLOGICAL NOTES ON THE ANCIENTELEC-TRUM COINS STRUCK BETWEEN THELELAN-TIANWARSAND THEACCESSIONOF DARIUS.

Contents:1. Introduction. 2.Derivation nd Developmentof the GreekWeight-Systemsrom he Heavynd LightBabylonianinje.(a)From heheavy abylonianina, hePhocaicold tandard,heAsiaticr 15Stater ilver tandard,andtheJEgineticilver tandard,)From heLi^htBaby-lonianMina,he uboic old ndSilvertandard,ndthe aby-Ionic r10 tater ilvertandard. 3.Electrum.(i.)Babylonic.(ii.)Asiatic,iii.)JEginetic.iv.)Euboic.v.)Phocaic.4.Con-clusion.5.Appendix.(i.)Explanationf the Plates,(ii.)Table f he elatveweightsf nglishrainsnd renchrammes,(iii.)Chronologicalable.

1. Introduction.

The discoverynot long since of a small number ofelectrum oins on the coast of the mainlandoppositeheisland of Samos,has led me to examinemoreminutelythan I had hitherto done the seriesof electrumcoinspreservedn the BritishMuseum andas a renewedtudyofthe coinshas convincedmethat wehavestill much tolearn concerning hese earliestexamplesof the art ofcoining, haveno hesitationn layingthe results f mywork beforethe Numismatic

Society,n the

hopethat

others also mayturn their attention to this interestingseries, nd that thus wemayobtaina clearer nsight ntothe commercial elations f the variousGreekcities,bothon the Asiaticand Europeansidesof the sea, in thetwo centuriesprecedingthe subjugationof the formerby the Persians.

As the Persian conquestwill form the limit of myinvestigations,helong seriesof the Cyzicenetaters nd

hectse,nd of the hectae f Phocaea,markedrespectivelyVOL.XV.N.S. K K



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246 NUMISMATICHRONICLE.

with the symbols f Cyzicusand Phocaea,he tunny-fishand the seal,being of a later date, will be beyondtheboundsof the present nquiry. So also will be manyother lectrum oins of a comparativelyateperiod,ssuedbycities pparently nconnected ith he bove-mentionedmonetary eagues. In the followingpagesI intend to

confinemyself o the considerationf the earliest lectrumcoins only, with especialreference o the standards ofweightwhichtheyfollow.Andhere,onceand for ll, letme expresshow much I am indebtedto Brandis,whose" Mnz-Mass undGewichtswesen willalwaysremaintreasure-housetoredwiththe results f patientresearch,to which the numismatistmust continually eturn, ndwherehe willalwaysfind new matter or tudy, eadinghimon tonew inesof nquiry, nd not seldom onew ndimportant iscoveries.It may ven be objectedbysomethat, fter heexhaus-tivechapterswhich Brandishas devotedto this subject,all I shall have to saywill be merely recapitulation fwhatmaybe found n his work. To such I wouldreply,that evenif it wereonlyso,a short eviewof the resultsarrived t byhimwould notbewithout ts uses,especiallyin this countrywhere tudents re but too apt to ignorethe existenceof archaeology,nd especiallynumismatics,as a pursuitworthy f their erious ttention.

BeforeI proceedfurther shall, therefore, ave noscruplein laying beforemy readers an outlineof theprincipal tandards sed for weighing hepreciousmetalsaboutthe time of the first nvention f coining. Thiswillconsist n the main of the resultsat whichBrandisandother metrologists ave arrived. In this outline I willendeavouro be asconcises is possibleonsistently ith

clearness.



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METROLOGICLOTESON ANCIENT LECTRUMOINS. 247

2. Origin and Developmentof the Greek Weight-Systems.

The Assyrian weights n the form f bronzelions andstoneducks,found y Layardamongthe ruins of ancient

Nineveh,ed to the discoveryf the weightof the ancientAssyrian nd Babyloniantalents. Theseappearto haveexisted n a doubleform, he onetalentbeing just doublethe weightof the other. It is supposedthat the heaviertalent was the older of the two,and originallyn use inthe Empireof the Assyrians,nd probably lso through-out the wholeofSyria,Palestine, nd Phoenicia.

The lighter talent is known by the name of theBabylonian,nd althoughboth mayhave beenin use inNineveh, he ighterformwould seemto have been moregenerally cceptedn Babylon.1

Thesystem ccording owhich these talentsweresub-dividedwas the sexagesimal,he talent being composedof 60minae,nd the mina of 60 shekels, he shekelbeingagaindividednto 30 parts.

This sexagesimalsystemwhichpervadedthe wholeofthe Assyrianweights and measures,both of space,of

material,nd of time, n whichlatter t has maintained

itself ownto our own times, s forpractical mploymentin weighing nd measuringdecidedlypreferable oth tothe decimaland to the duodecimal,becausethe numberuponwhichit is basedpossessesa far greater powerofdivisibility.Theheavier f the twomina,weighing1,010grammes, eemsto have passedby land through Syriainto the Phoeniciancoast-towns,nd by the Phoenician

1Brandis, . 45.



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traders to have been spreadamongthe islandsof tlieJEgeanand the townsuponits coasts.

The lighter mina, weighing505 grammes, ounditswayinto the kingdom f Lydia,whosecapitalSardes wasintimately onnected n the andsidewith Babylon,withwhich t wasin constant ommercial ntercourse.2

Fromthese two points,Phoenician the onehand andLydiaontheother, he Greeksof Asia Minor receivedhetwo units of weighton which the wholefabricof theircoinagerests.

Howlong before heinvention f coiningtheseAssy-rian and Babylonianweightshad foundtheir way intoGreece,t is impossibleosay. It is probable,however,that the Greekshad long been familiarwith them, ndthat the small bars of goldand silver,whichservedthe

purposesof a currency, ere regulatedaccordingto theweightof the sixtieth art of the Babylonianmina. It istrue that, not bearingthe guarantee f the State, t wasnecessaryoput them ntothe scales andweighthem, ikeall othermaterials ought nd sold by weight,whenevertheypassedfrom he hands of one merchant o those of

2Heeren,deen,&c. Gttingen,815. Th. i. Abth. i.HandelderBabylonier,. 199. Allthe Assyriannd Baby-lonian tandard eightsn the BritishMuseumhaverecentlybeen ccuratelye-weighedna balance fprecision,nder hedirectionf the Warden f the Standards.ThisverificationhasprovedhatDr.Brandiswasinthemainright nassuming1,010and 505grammess theweightsf the twominae.Itisneverthelessrobablehatduring he xtendederiod rom2000 625 b.c., the weights f these minaevariedfrom1040 960,and from 20 to460grammesespectively. heevidencef the coins,however,endsto show hat bout hetimewhen heGreeksfirst ecamefamiliar ith hem, heirweights ere, s Dr. Brandisupposed,,010nd505grammes.SeetheNinthAnnualReportf theWarden f the Standardsfor 874 5. London. 1875.



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METROLOGICALOTESONANCIENTLECTRUM OINS.249

another thus, lthough heinvention f coiningbroughtwith t no essential hange n theconditions f commercialintercourse, he preciousmetals having for ages pre-viouslybeen lookeduponas measures f value, t never-theless normouslyacilitated uch intercourse,enderingneedless hecumbrousnd lengthy rocessf weighing ut

the gold or silver to be receivedin exchangefor anygiven commodity.The acceptedvalue of gold as comparedwith silver

was in these times, nd for longafterwards,s 13J s to1;3 andfrom his relation f gold to silverthe standardby which the latter metal was weighedseemsto havebeendevelopedn the followingmanner. Theproportionof 13*3to 1 made it inconvenient oweighthe twometalsaccordingoone and the samestandard, s in that case a

givenweightn goldwouldnothavebeenexchangeableora roundnumber f bars of silver, ut for hirteen nd one-third of such bars hence,in order to facilitate he ex-changeof the two metals, heweightof the silver taterwasraisedabovethat of the goldstater, n order hatthegold sixtiethmight be easilyconvertiblento a roundnumber f silver taters.

Now the sixtieth f the heavygoldAssyrianminawasa pieceweighing bout260 grains. Dividingthis pieceagain by sixty,weobtaina minutegold pieceweighingonly4*3grains if we multiply hisby 13*3,hepropor-tionatevalue ofsilver o gold,we arrive t a unit n silverof about 67 grains. Thus arosethe silver drachm n-troducedby the Phoeniciansnto Greece,uponwhichtheso-called Asiatic orPhoeniciansilverstandard s based.Accordingothe sexagesimalystem,ts value wasthatof

3Mommsen,renzboten,868,No.10,p. 397.



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the sixtiethpart of the sixtieth f the goldmina. Fourof these ilver sixtieths ormed pieceof metalweighingabout 230grains maximum). This becamethe stater fthe Phoeniciansilver standard, nd as fifteen f thesestaters go to form one gold sixtieth, his standard hasbeendesignatedby Brandisas the fifteen-statertandard.

The people of Lydia, adopting a differentmethod,arrived t a different esult. We have seenthat at Sardesthe light Babylonian goldmina,travellingby land, hadbecomedomesticatedn the country. The sixtieth f thismina, weighing130 grains, multipliedby 13*3,yieldsabout 1,729 grains of silver. Applyingto this silver-weighta decimaldivision,they arrivedat a convenientsilver tater f about 170grains, nd as ten of thesepiecesconstitute ne goldsixtieth, hisstandardhas beencalledby Brandis theten-stater tandard.4As the Phoenicianshad penetrated verywhere,sta-blishing,with their accustomed nterprise, heirfactorieson almostevery oast,they oondiscoveredthe metallicwealth of the land, and began to work for the firsttime the veinsof silver which had lain for agesunsus-pected in the mountains. Hence, little by little, thePhoeniciansilver weightbecamewidelyknown hrough-out the Greek world. TheBabylonicsilver standard, nthe other hand,outside hekingdom f Lydia,washardlyknown t all until after he Persian conquest,when t wasadoptedfor the silver currenoy f the empireand itsdependentatraps.

The Greeks,however,when theyfirst truck coinsof4Both hefifteennd the enstater tandardre thusbased

upononeand the sameunit, iz., a pieceofabout57grains.This s the hird art f he tater f 170grains,ndthefourthpart of the stater f 230grains. We thereforeee why heformer f thesestaterss regularlyividednto three ndthelatter nto wo ndfour arts Brandis,. 58).



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METROLOGICA ,OTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.251

silverdid not everywheredoptthe prevalent hoenicianstandard. Chalcis andEretria,perhapsthe mostimport-ant commercial ities fEuropeanGreece,had established,as early as the eighth century B.c.,an activemaritimetrade with the oppositecoastsof Asia Minor, nd fromthese coasts they received, he Babyloniangold mina

with ts sixtieth, iz,130grains. As therewas little orno gold on their own side of the sea, whilesilver,onthe other hand,flowednto Eubcea fromher colonies nthe mining districts f Macednand Thrace,the citiesof that island transferred o silver the standard withwhichtheyhad becomefamiliar n their commercewiththe Ionian towns,and on this Babylonicgoldstandardthey struck their earliest silver staters, weighing130grains. Their examplewas soon followedby Corinth,and thenceforwardhe Babylonianoriginof this weightwas lost sight of by the Greeks,and the name of theEuboictalentwasappliedby them o the old Babyloniangold weight all coins,whether f gold or silver, trucknot only n Greece butin the East onthis weight, eingsaid to followthe Euboic standard. The name of theBabylonicstandard, nevertheless, emainedin use forthe Lydian and Persian silverweight whichhad been

developedbythe

Lydiansout of the

goldmina.

Bythe Babylonictalent the Greeks therefore nderstoodsilverstandard, he stater of which weighed170grains,whileby the Euboic talent they understood standardused either for silver or for gold, the stater of whichweighed130grains.

At the commencementf the seventhcentury .c.,orin other words bout the time whenthe Greeksof Asia

Minoror the Lydiansfirst it uponthe idea of stampingthe bars of metal with officialmarks as guaranteesof



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their weightand value,the followingweretherefore heweightsgenerally urrent n commercialntercourse

(a)(i.)The60th f the heavyAssyrianminangold,weighing260grains. Thisweighthad found ts waythrough

Syria nd Phoeniciaothe coasts f AsiaMinor. Theearliestoins f this class are said to havebeenssued

at Phocaea.Hencehe arliest old taters f256grains(maximum),ith their ubdivisions,ave beendesig-nated s of hePhocaic tandard.(ii.)Thecorrespondingilverpieceof 280grains, ifteenfwhichwere qualin value to one Phocaicgoldstater.Thisweight, hich lso wasof Phoenicianrigin, as

adoptedby many f the coast towns fAsiaMinor ortheir ilver urrency. The actualweight f the coinsof thisstandardeldom ameupto the normal eightof280grains,20grains eing bout he verage. Asthe earliest oins of this standardwere lso struck yGreekities f Asia Minor,t has obtainedhename ftheAsiatictandard. Brandisallst theFifteen-taterstandard.

(iii.)Theweight doptedby Pheidon,when,sometimebeforehemiddlef the 7th entury, e first nstituteda mint n the sland fJEgina.Thisappearsobeonlya degradationf the Phoenician ilver tandard,8hemaximumeight f the earliestEginetictaters eingashigh s 212grains, houghhe verageweightsnotmore han bout 90grains. TheJEginetictandardnthe earliest imeswasprevalenthroughouthePelo-

5Brandisngeniouslyevelopshe Egineticilver tandardout of the electrumtaterof 220 grains n the followingmanner. In thefirst lace,hesupposeshe lectrumtater ocontainboutone-thirdf silver, e then akeswhatremainsof- uregold,viz.,about146grains,he ilver quivalentfwhich, ccordingo therecognisedroportionatealueofthetwometals,s 1,941grains f ilver, r ust ten Egineticilverstaters f194grains.It is simpler,n my opinion, o supposethe ^Egineticstandardobemerely reducedr ighter orm f thePhoeni-cian, nd the fact that some of the earlier taters f Eginaweigh s muchs 212grains, fwhich randis oesnot eemto havebeenaware,s in favour f this standardeing heresult f gradualeduction.



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METROLOGICA ,OTESON ANCIENTLECTRUMOINS.253

ponnesus,ntheChalcidianolonies f taly nd Sicily,inCrete, n the Cyclades,speciallyeos,Naxos,ndSiphnos,nd even in certain owns n AsiaMinor,amongwhichTeos,andperhapsCyme,maybe men-tioned,s well as in manyother ocalitieswhichneednotbehereparticularised.

((iv.)The60th f the ight abylonianoldmina,which ad

foundtswayby andfrom he banks f the Euphratesto Sardes, nd from ardesprobablyhrough amosto the importantommercialities f Euba,ChalcisandEretria,where ilver oins f 180grainswere irstissued. Thisweight,whether sed for silver, s inGreece,r for old, s in the East, wentbythenameoftheEuboicstandard.

(v.) The correspondingilverpieceof 170grains, en ofwhichwereequaln value o. ne Euboicgold tater f130grains. Thisweight eingfirstmet with n thesilvercoinageof the Lydians,who had doubtlessderivedt from abylon,etainedtsoriginal ame,ndwasknown s the Babylonicilver tandard. It hasbeendesignatedyBrandis s theTen-statertandard.

In the preceding urvey f the weights f the variousstaters n gold and silver current among the ancientinhabitantsof Asia and Greecein the seventh entury,I have,for he sakeof clearness, mitted to mention hatthe Greeks,n adoptingthe sixtieth part of the ancientBabylonianmina as their stater, whether of gold orsilver,did not also adopt the sexagesimal systemn itsentirety, ut constituted ew minsefor themselves,on-sisting f fifty taters nstead of sixty. Thusthe Greekstater was identicalwith the Assyrianand Babyloniansixtieth, ut the Greek minawas not identical with theAssyrianmina,since t containedbut fifty f these units.On the other hand,the Greek talent contained,iketheAssyrian, ixtyminae,houghonly3,000insteadof3,600

staters.VOL.XV.N.S. L L



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3. Electrum.Besides gold and silver, a third preciousmetal wasknown to the ancients,which as early as the time ofSophocles6was known by the name of electrum. It

was also calledwhite gold,7and appears to have beenalwayslookeduponas a distinctmetal.8 Electrumwasobtainedin large quantitiesfrom the washingsof thePactolus andfrom he mines on TmolusandSipylus. Itwascomposedof about three partsof gold and one partof silver. It therefore tood in an entirely differentrelation o silver from hatof pure gold,the latter beingto silver s 13*3to 1,while electrumwasabout10to 1.

This natural compoundof gold and silver possessedseveraladvantagesfor purposesof coining over gold,which, s mighthave beenexpected,werenot overlookedby a peopleendowedn sohigh a degreewithcommercialinstincts s were the inhabitantsof the coast townsofAsiaMinor. In the first lace t was moredurable, eingharder and less subjectto wear; secondly t wasmoreeasilyobtainable, eingfound n large quantities n theimmediateneighbourhoodand,lastly, tanding s it didin the

simplerelation of 10 to 1 as

regardssilver, t

rendered eedlessheuseofa different tandard f weightfor he two metals, nablingthe authorities f the mint tomakeuse of one setof weights nd a decimalsystem asyofcomprehensionnd simplen practice.

Onthis account lectrumwasweighedccording othe

8Soph.Ant.1087 KpScaivcr',/xiroXrcv r SapScwvrktKTpov, ovXeaOc,catv IvSikovpvcrvk.t. .7Herod,. 50.8

Brandis,. 165.



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METROLOGCALNOTESON ANCIENTLECTRUMOINS. 255

silverstandard, nd the electrum tater wasconsequently-equivalent o ten silver staters f the sameweight. Theweightofthe electrum tater n each townor district husdependeduponthe standard whichhappenedto be in usethere for silverbullion or silverbar-money, he practiceof the new inventionof stampingmetal for circulation

being n the first nstance nly ppliedto the more preciousof the two metals, he electrum tater representingn aconvenientlymallcompass weightof silver bulliontentimes as bulky and ten times as difficult f transport.Once,however,n generaluse,the extension osilver ndto goldof the new invention f coiningcouldnot be longdelayed.

As the standards ccording owhichbullionsilverwasweighedwere variousin differentocalities,having beendeveloped,s we have seen above,by differentmethodsout of the sixtieth arts of the heavyand the ight Baby-loniangoldminaB,o also were theearliest lectrumtatersof different eights, depending everywhere ponsilverand not upon gold. Consequently,s might have beenexpected,wemeetwithelectrum oinsof the Phoenician,the JEginetic,the Babylonic,and the Euboic systems.TheseI propose o considern the followingrder

i. Babylonic.ii. Asiaticr Phoenician.iii. Eginetic.iv. Euboic.v. Phocaic.

Thecoinsof the so-called Phocaicsystem tand on asomewhatdifferent ooting. This standard, s we haveseenabove,wasnot a silver tandard, ut a goldone,baseduponthe sixtieth f heheavyBabylonianmina,weighing

about260 grains hencethe electrum oinswhichfollow



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this tandard re clearlydistinguishable,otonly by theirweightbut by their olour,from heelectrum f the foursilver standards. Whether they ought to be includedunderthe headingof electrum s almost a question, orthe majority f thesecoinsapproachmore nearlyto goldin colour, nd they wereprobablyntendedto circulate

as gold, the metal of which they re composednot beingthe natural electrum, s found n Lydia,but an artificialcompound,he use of which,as representing old,mayhavebeena sourceofconsiderablerofit othe State.

I. Babylonic.Of this classI know of onlya]singleelectrum tater,

whichmaybe thusdescribed,nd which would attribute

to LydiaObv. Plain. (Typus asciatus.)Rev Threencusedepressionsthat n the entre blong,theothers quare. Wt.166*8.PI. VIL 1.

Thereappearsto have existed in the Lydian kingdom,beforethe time of Croesus, twofold oinagen electrum- that is to say, that electrum taterswere struck t thesame time upon two distinct standards, he staters of

whichweighed respectively 67 and 220 grains. Thisunusualcircumstancean onlybe accounted for on thesuppositionhatthe staters f 220grainswere ntended ocirculaten the Ionian coast townswhere the Phoenicianstandard prevailed,nd the stater of 167 grains in theinterior f Asiaand in commercewith the East. Thistwofoldcurrency s quite in conformity ith the inter-mediatepositionof the Lydian Empire,whichwas, aslongas it lasted,a connecting ink between he Greeks

ofthe coastandthe vastempires f the interior.



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METROLOGICA *OTESONANCIENTLECTRXJMOINS.257

If wegrant that the relation f puregoldto silver wasat this time about 13*3 to 1, that of electrum o silverwouldbe about10 to 1, whichaccountsfor the fact thatelectrum nd silver staters are constantly oinedaccord-ing to the same weights. The electrum oinagein mostcasesprobablyprecededthe coinagein silver, and may

havegiven rise to the weights n which he silver coinswere struck. Thus the above-mentionedlectrum taterof 167 grains wouldbe equal to ten Babylonicsilverstaters f the sameweight, nd on this account it is pro-bablyLydian,in whichcountry, rom he time ofCroesus,silverwas struck on this standard. Croesus,s we haveseen,onhis accession,found two electrum taters urrentin hiskingdom, he oneweighing220grainsfor he com-mercewiththe Greeks, nd the other 167grainsfor theinlandtrade. A greatreform n the coinagewould seemto have beenintroduced nder the rule of Croesus thecoinagein electrumwas entirely abolished,and in itsplacea doublecurrency n pure gold and in silverwasissued. In the introduction f this new coinage,regard,however, eems to have beenhad to the weight of thepreviously urrent lectrumstaters, each of which wasthenceforth epresented y an equal value, though ofcoursenot

byan

equal weight,of

puregoldthus the old

Grseco-siaticelectrum tater of 220grainswasreplacedby a newpure gold stater of 167 grains, quivalent, ikeits predecessorn electrum, o ten Graeco- siaticsilverstaters, s current n the coasttowns, nd the old Baby-Ionicelectrum tater f 167grainswasreplacedby a newpuregoldstater of 125 grains, qual in value, ike it, toten silver taters f 167grains. This lattergoldpieceof125 grains ultimatelysupersededthe heavier coin of



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167grains, nd became ncourseof time the prototype fthe Persiandaric.

Thefollowing ableof the ancientLydian coinsmayserve to make this reform n the imperialcoinagemoreclear to the mind of the student

LYDIA.BEFORECRSUS.Electrum.

(i.) BabyonietandardWt. Obverse. Reverse.166-8 Plaintypu*asciatiti. Threencuseepressionsthat(Stater.) in the centre blong,heothersquare.:[PI.vii. i.]

(ii.)AsiatictandardEl. 216*4Fore-partsf ion nd ull Threencuseepressionsthat(Stater.) turnedway romach in the centre blong,he

other,ndoinedy heir othersquare,necks.[PI.VII.2.]

El.219 Two ions'heads acing,ame.(Stater.) joinedy heir ecks.[Brandis,.386.]

LYDIA.TIMEOFCRSUS,B.C. 560-646.Pure Goldand SilverCoinage.

(i.)Babylonittandard.N 165 Fore-partsf ion nd ull,Oblongncuse,ividednto wo

facingach ther. portions.J. tat.=El.20 rs.[Brandis,.386.]JV, 6 Same. Same.J AT.tat.=l. 73[Brandis,.386.]W. 28 Same. Same.JJf. tat.=El.37[Brandis,.386.]jAT. 4 Same. Same.AiT.stat.=El.18

[Brandis,.386.](ii.)Euboictandard

N.125 Same. Same. jy.stat.=El.67[PI.X.1.]



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M TROLOGCALNOTESONANCIENT LECTRUM OINS. 259

"Wt. Obverse. Reverse.jV. 42 Same. Same.J f, tat.=El. 6grs.*

[Pl.X.2.]W. 21 Same. Same.JiV. tat.=El. 8 *

[Brandis,.387.]JST.1 Same. Same.iT. stat.=El. 4 *

[Brandis,.387.](i.)Babylonictandard,

JR. 65 Same. Same. M.stat.=^T.25-f-10[H.X.3.]iR. 84 Same. Same. JELr.zzjf. 25-f-20

[PI.X.4.]JEL 5 Same. Same.JjR. tat.=iy. 25-r30

[Brandis,.387.]JR. 12? Same. Same.JEL.tat.=iR.65-rl4

[PI.X.5.]II. Asiatic.

The secondseriesof earlyelectrummoney s knownbythe name of Asiatic,Graeco-siatic,or Phoenician.Thestaters of this systemweigh 220 grains maximum. Itappearsto have been of Phoenician rSyrian origin, r,at anyrate, to have been introducedby the Phoeniciantraders nto the Ionian coast towns,where it took firmroot, and whence it spread,mainly through the com-mercial activity of the Milesians,on the one side toThrace and Macedn forsilver, and on the other toiEgina,if wemaylookuponthe coinageof that sland nelectrum nd silveras a modificationr lighterform ofthe samestandard.

Theprimitive lectrum taters f the Asiatic standardare characterizedy the peculiar triple ndentation f thereverses, onsistingf anoblong ncusedepressionetweentwo squareones. Of this pattern we possesselectrum

* Coins f 56, 28, and14grainswereprobablyotstruckin electrum,s the system y which heelectrumtaterwas

divided asby8, 6, 12,&c.,notby2, 4, and8.



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staterswith the lion of Miletus Pl. VII. 3),the stag ofEphesus(Pl. VII. 4), the half-horse f Cyme Brandis,p. 390),the bull (Brandis,p. 401,underSamos),and theChimaera,9he two last-mentionedypesbeing of uncer-tain attribution. From these Ionian coast-townstheAsiaticstater spreadalong the valleysof the Maeander,

theCayster, nd the Hermus,nto the heart f Lydia,and,as we have seenin the previousection,wasadoptedinthe Lydian capitalbefore he time of Croesus,where ttook ts placesidebysidewiththeBabylonictater,whichlatter had arrivedat Sardesfrom he and-sideby meansofthe greatcaravanroute rom hebanksof the Euphratesandthe Tigris.

Thefollowing ownsadoptedthe Grseco- siatic staterat a somewhatater date for heir reverses re nolongerof the primitive orm ndicatedabove,but exhibit theordinary ncuse square sometimesdivided into fourquarters. The characterof the work uponthe obversesof these later coinsis more advancedthan that of theextremely rchaicstaters f Miletus,Ephesus,Cyme, ndSardes. Of this later classcoinsare known with thesphinx of Chios(Pl. VII. 6), the half-bull with headturned back of Samos(Pl. VII. 5), the wingedboar ofClazomenae

Brandis,p.392),the cow and calf of doubt-

ful attribution,10nd lastly the sea-horseof Lampsacus,9This coin,which s in the British Museum,has been

describedyBrandisp.402)asbearinghe ype f chimaera.I must onfess,owever,hat t does not seemto me to be aChimaera,ut rather lion, nwhich asethere an be littledoubt hatMiletuss the ity o whicht should eattributed.10Thisstater, n account t its type a cow uckling ercalf (Brandis,. 402)wouldseemto have some connectionwith he sland f Eubaandshouldbe perhapsttributedogomeEubancolonyon the Asiaticcoast, e.g.Cyme n

iEolis,or Chalcisn the

neighbourhoodf Teos and

Erythrae.It is noticeablehat silver taters f Euboicweight lso existhavingn the obverse cowandcalf, ndonthereverse star



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METROLOGICA ,OTESON ANCIENTLECTRUMOINS.2^1and the eagle of Abdos(Pl. VII. 7, 8). AbydosandLampsacuswere settlements f Miletus,situatedon theHellespont,and were of the utmost mportance o themother ity n her trade with the BlackSea,as harboursof safety. We thusperceivehowit was that the Milesianelectrum tater ecame domesticated tthese twonorthern

stations. But in all these cities, xcept perhapsSamos,the coinagein electrumbelongsto a veryearly period,and cannot in my opinionhave long survivedthe re-organizationf the Lydian coinage byCroesus.Roughlyspeaking, hecoinageof electrum n the Asiatic standardmayhave lasted a little morethan a century nd a half,commencingboutb.c.700,andendingwiththeconquestof Samosbythe Persians n b.c. 520. TheAsiaticstaterof 220 grainswas doubtlessthe prototype f the silver

stater f the sameweight,which fterwards btained ucha widecirculation,not only on the west coast of AsiaMinor,but n Thrace and Macedn(Brandis,pp. 134136); andin thosefew nstanceswherethe two coinagesin electrum nd silver werecontemporary,he electrumstater would haveexchangedfor ten silverpiecesof thesameweight.

Severalhalf-staters f this standard are to be found nthe British Museum/nd other ollections but the onlyone whichcan beattributedwithany degreeof certaintyas on someof the earlycoinsofErythr. am thereforerathernclinedofix ponChalcis n thevicinityfErythrstheplacewhere oth lectrumndsilvermayhavebeen oined.SeealsoKhlerGesch.d. Delisch-ttischen undes, . 155." Imxxiv.J. [b.c.481 480]haben ie[viz.,theErythrans]gemeinschaftlichezahltmit einem andern Ort, vielleichtX[aKi&}],elchenNamen Bckhan einer andernStelleherstellen ollte. Er versteht inenOrt n derLandschaftXaXiTt,oider ervermuthet,ie sei zumTheilerythrisch,zumTheilteisch ewesen.Vgl.Pausan,vii. 5 5.Strab. iv.644,c. 1,Gr. I., p. 651."

VOL.XV.N.S. MM



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is a pieceof Miletusweighing107 grains. Obv. Lionrecumbentright, with head turned to left, within aquadrilateralframe. Rev. Three incusedepressionsson the earliest staters,but eachcontaining type, theupper square a stag's head, the oblong incuse in thecentre, n animal like a foxrunning to the left, nd the

lowersquarean ornament, , whichmayperhapsbe amarkofvalue,signifying hat the coin is worth ive ilverstaters of about 216 grains Pl. VIII. 4). This at anyrate would be the exactvalueof the coin,and the orna-ment might, think, be thus interpretedwithoutanytoo violent stretch f the imagination,were it not thatanotherhalf-stater f like weighthas onthe reversethemark (Pl. VIII. 3), which, f also a mark of value,must be taken to signify hat the coin wasexchangeablefor fourpiecesof silverof about270grains, n whichcaseweshouldhaveto attribute t to some districtwhere ilverwas issuedaccording othe Euboicstandard, n inferencewhichseemsscarcelyprobable,and which consequentlycasts much doubt uponthe interpretation f theseorna-ments s marks ofvalue.

Thestag'shead in the upper incusesquareof the firstof these half-staters may indicate that the coin was

payableat the

treasuryof the

templeof Artemis at

Ephesus,or perhapsthat it was struckunder the jointauthority f Miletus,Ephesus,and some other town ortemple,the last of which is symbolizedby the fox-likeanimal n the central ncuse.

Thirdsalsoexistofseveraltowns, mongwhichmaybementioned yzicus Brandis,p. 388),DardanusPL VIII.8), Ephesus(PL VIII. 6, 7), Miletus PL VIII. 9), andSamos(Brandis, . 401.) Those ofEphesusare sopalein

colourthat they mightperhapsbe consideredather s ofsilver than of electrum, lthough,as far as I amaware,



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M TROLOGICL NOTESON ANCIENTLECTRUMOINS. 263

silver coins of this weight are never found elsewhere.Theobverseypeofthese coins s a bee,whilethe reversebearsan oblongincusedividedinto two parts, s on theelectrum hirds f the other itiesmentionedbove. Theyare therefore learlycontemporary ith the others, ndmust have passedcurrent ither s electrum hirds, r as

silver,at the rate of 10 to 1 againstthe electrum iecesof the other ities of the sameweight, n which casetheywould be thirds of the silver stater of 220 grains, ndaltogether n exceptionaloinage, he Asiatic silver taterbeing everywhere ivided nto halves and quarters;thedivisionby three being peculiarto gold and electrum,and to the silverstaterof the Babylonicstandard f 170grains. On this accountit is perhapssafer to includethem in the electrumseries,in spite of the very palecolourof the metal of whichthey are composed.Of the smallerdivisions, ourthsonlyoccur at Miletus(Brit. Mus.)and Chios(Brandis, p. 400). Sixths aremore commonand are found t Ephesus(Pl. VIII. 10),Miletus (Pl. VIII. 11), Clazomense(Pl. VIII. 12),CebreniaBrandis,p. 389),Samos(Brandis,p. 401), Cos(Brandisp. 401),and other places. In additionto theabove,t willbe seen from the following able of Asiaticelectrumcoins that Eighths,Twelfths,Twenty-fourths,Forty-eighths nd Ninety-sixths also occur, the lastmentionedminutepieceweighingonlyabout 21 grains,andbeingequivalentn valueto exactlyone-tenth art ofthe silver tater.

ASIATICTANDARD.EarlyPeriod.Staters.

Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.21o*3Miletus. Fore-partf ion,ight Three ncusedepres-star nforehead. sionsthatn heen-tre blong,he thv.square.[Pl.VII.3.]



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264 NUMISMATICHRONICLE.Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.217*8Miletus Lion ecumbent,ight, imilar,utncuseson-lookingeft. tainingrnaments.[Brandis,.402,escribeds aChimra.]218 y, Lionrecumbent,eft, Three ncusedepres-lookingight, ithin sions,hatn heen-anoblongrame. tre blong,he therssquare.[Brandis,.394.]

217 Ephesos. AMBIM3H0N5[ASimilar.Stag eeding.11[PI.VII.4.]

220 Cyme. Fore-partf bridled imilar.horse,ight above,flower.[Brandis,.390.]

216 Uncertain. Bull walking,ight, imilar,utncuseson-(Calchedon) headowered. tainingrnaments.[Brandis,.401 Lenormant,on. es agides,l.VIII.8.]215*4Sardes. Fore-partsf ion nd Three ncusedepres-bull urnedwayrom sions,hatn he en-

eachther,nd oined tre blong,he thersby heirecks. square.[Pl.VII.2.]219 Twoions'eadsacing,ame.joined y heirecks.[Brandis,.386.]

LaterPeriod.Staters.217 Chios. Sphinxeated,ight. Incusesquare, uar-tered.

[Pl.VII.6.]214

Same.

Similar,ut hree

uar-ters againdivideddiagonally.[Brandis,.399.]217 Clazomense.ore-partf wingedncusesquare, uar-boar,ight. tered.

[Brandis,.392.]216 Uncertain Cowsuckling alf Incusequare.(Chalcisonia)) flowernd ar f orn.

[Brandis,.402.]11 his s the arliestnscribedoinknownoexist. Forthe

meaningf the legend eeMr.Newton'srticle n theNum.Chron., .S.,vol.x.p.237.



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METllOLOGICALOTESONANCIENT LECTRUM OINS.265

Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.214 Lampsacus.Fore-partf sea-horse,ncusesquare, uar-left above,lower. tered.

[Pl.VII.8.]217 Abyos. Eagletanding,eft in Incuse quare,front,olphin.

[PI.VII.7.]

Time p Polycrates. tatek.217 Samos. Fore-partf ull, ight, ncusesquare, uar-lookingack. tered.12[PI.VII.5.]

Half-staters. arlyPeriod.105*8Uncertain. Plain.Typusasciatus.)hree ncusedepres-sions that n the

centre blong,heothersquare.Doublestruck.)[PI.VIII.1.]

107 Miletus. Lionrecumbent,ight, imilar,ut ach ink-lookingeft,within ing ontainingtype:oblongrame. theupper,quare,stag'sead the en-tral,blong,foxun-ning,eft the ower,square,n ornamentX

[PI.VIII.4.]110-1 Uncertain.Raisedquare. Incusequare,ontain-ingcuneiformrna-ments,rrangedhus

>


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Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.108*6Uncertain. Boundhield?n high Incusequare,ontainrelief,ividediago- ing n rnament,husnally y twobroad ^bands.[PLYII. 3.]

110*2Uncertain. Incusequareontain-ncusequare,ontain-ingcuneiformrna- ingcuneiformrna-ments."Nameof ments.Cyrus??

[Brandis,.402Lenoruiant,on. es agides.Pl. VIII.9.]Thirds.

73 Cyzicus. HtVfc.Lion'shead,Oblongncuse,ividedleft.ia into wo arts.[Brandis,.388.]

73- Dardanusr CockndHen. Same.Selymbria [Pl.VIII.8.]

71 Uncertain Raisedsquare, uar- Same.(Lesbos?) tered.[Pl.VIII.6.]

71 Ephesus. Been inearquare. Same.[PLVIII.6.]67-8 Similar. Similar.

[Pl.VIII.7.]71 Miletus. Lionying,eft,ooking woncusequares,ne

right. containingstarbothornamented).[Brandis,.394.]

73 }t Lionsheadwith pen Oblongncuse,ividedjawsabove,tar. into wo arts.[Pl.VIII.9.]

73 Samos. Lion'scalp acing. Oblongncuse,ividedinto wo arts.72 ,, Same. Same.[Brandis,.401.]

Fourths.48*9Miletus. Lion'sheadwith pen Oblongncuse,ivided

jawsabove,tar. into woarts.[Brit.Mus.]13 heattributionf this coin to Cyzicusests pon he n-

scriptionolely. VideBrandis,. 177,note1.



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METROLOGICALOTESONANCIENT LECTRUM OINS. 267Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.56*4Chios. Sphinx,eft. Two ncuseepressions,adornedithtarsndflowers.

[Brandis,.400.]

Sixths.36 Ephesus. Fore-partf tag,eft Incusequare,overedinfront,hreeellets. withines.

[PI.VIII.10.]37 Miletus. Lion'shead, ightin Oblongncuse,ividedfront,nscription? into woarts.[PI.VIII.II.]37 Miletus. Lion'sheadwith penSame.jaws above,tar.35*7 Lion'sead,eft. Incusequare,ontain-

(Plated) ing tar.[Brandis,. 395.]359 Clazomense?)IAA[X].Boar'sead,Two ncusequaresfright. differentizes.

[Pl.VIII.12.]37 Uncertain. Plaintypusasciais). Same.[PLVili. 13.]36*3Cebrenia. Ram'sead,eft. Incusequare.

[Brandis,. 389.]36 Samos. Lion'scalp, acing. Oblongncuse.

[Brandis,.401.]35 Cos. Crab. Incusequare.

[Brandis,.401.]36 Uncertain. Fore-partf lion, p- Incusequare.right, ithpenaws,left, ne aw aised.

[Brandis,.402.]38 Uncertain. Horse'sead,eft. Incusequare.[Brandis,.402.]30 Uncertain. Beardlessead,ight,f Incusequare.(Plated) archaictyle.[Brit.Mus.]

Eighth.26*5Uncertain. Shield ornamentedncusequare,with hree rescents,back o ack,ontain-

ing ots.[Pl.VIII.14



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Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.^ Twelfths.18*1Miletuf, Lion'sead,ight, ith ncusequare,open aws above,star.

[Brandis,.395.]18*4Ephesus. Fore-partf tag, ight, ncusequare,lookingack.[Brandis,.393.]18 Chios. Griffin,eft; eneath, Incusesquare, rna-mented ith tar rflower.

[Brandis,.400.]177 Samos. Lion'scalp,acing. Incusequare.[PLVIII.15.]18 Uncertain. Plaintypusasciatus).ncusequare.[Brandis,.402.]18*5Uncertain. Lion'sead,acing. Incusequare.[Bankf England.]14 Cebrenia. Rain'sead,ight. Incusequare.

[Brit. us.]Twenty-ourths.

9*3Miletus? Lion'sead,ight. Incusesquare,uar-tered.8*8Cebrenia. Ram'sead,ight. Irregularncusequare.[Brit.Mus.]0.7 " ' ft [Brandis,.389.]9*3 Uncertain. Horse'sead,eft. Incusequare.[Brandis,.402.]9*5Uncertain. Boar?right. Same.

[Brandis,.402.]8*9Uncertain. Irregularumps. Same.[Brit.Ms9 Uncertain. Plain ypusasciatus).ame.[Brit.Mus.]6. Uncertain.Beardlessead,eft, f Incusequare,archaictyle.

Forty-eighths.4*1Abydos. Eagle,right, ookingncusequare.back.

[Brandis,.389.]



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METROLOGlALNOTESON ANCIENTLECTKUMOINS. 269

Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.4*8Miletus. Lion'sead,ightstar Same,overorehead.

[Brandis,.396.]4*7 Uncertain. Head faglerfish. Incusequare.[Brandis,.402.]4*1Uncertain. Flower. Star-ormedsinkingwithentralose.

[Brit. us., ewton,iscoveriestHalicarnassus,ol.i., arti., .684.]Ninety-sixths.

2*9Eresus. Barleycorn. IneuRe.[Brit.Mus.]1*9Cos. Crab. Incusequare.

[Brit.Mus.]

III. Eginetic.

In addition to the Ionian maritime ownsthe Asiaticelectrumstater wouldseem to have found ts

wayacross

the iEgean to the island of ^Egina,whereit was pro-bably introducedby the Phoenician or Ionian traders.A specimens preservedof this coinagein the Pariscollection,weighing207grains, nd bearingthe figure fa tortoise, hesymbol f the Phoenician oddessofthe seaand of trade Pl. VIII. 16). This remarkable oin issomewhatighter han the correspondingiecesas struckon the Asiaticcoast,and this is perhaps the reasonwhy

the .Eginetansilver when first oinedby PheidonofArgoswasof a lighter tandard han the Asiaticsilverofthe oppositeoast. The earliest Eginetan silver coins,judgingfrom heheaviestpecimenntheBritishMuseum,weighed'about 212 grains, and would consequentlyhaveexchangedwith the electrum n the proportion f10to 1, a rate which thus seemsto have been universalbetween lectrum nd silver,for n every nstancewhereprimitive lectrumcoinageexisted, t was followedand

generally eplacedby a silver coinidentical n weight, sVOL.XV.N.S. N N



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we haveseenin the caseof the Lydian electrum f 167grainsand of the Asiatic electrum f 220 grains, nd asweshall presently eewasalso the case with the Euboicelectrum f 130 grains. The followingare the onlygenuinecoins of electrumwhichcanin my udgmentbeassignedto the island of^Egina.

jEGINETIC STANDARD.Stater circ.12 rs.)

207 JEgina. Tortoise. Incusequare,ividedinto wo arts.[Pl.YII. 16.Par.Mus.]14Fourthcirc.4 48grs.)

43*8JEgina. Tortoise. Incusequare.[Pl.VIII.17. Brit.Mus.]

Twelfthcirc.6grs.)11*8JEgina. Tortoise Incusequare.[Pl.VIII.18. BankfEngland.]

IV. Euboic.Noelectrum oins haveup to the present eenassigned

bymetrolog8tso the Euboic standard. I haveneverthe-lessno hesitation n separating s Euboiccertainpieces,someof whicharenowfor he first imepublished,whileothers have hitherto been classedamongthe Phocaic.Theearliestcoinsof the Phocaicstandard re staters f256grains maximum),nd are ofcomparativelyuregold,havingbeenintended s I think ocirculateas sueh,andat the rate of 13.3as regards silver. The coinswhich

14 or an impressionf this uniqueandhighlynterestingcoin, s well s for hat f heEuboicdoubletater Pl. IX.1),I am ndebtedothe kindnessf M.Chabouillet,onservateur

duDpartementesMdailleslaBibliothqueationale.



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METROLOGICA ,OTESONANCIENTLECTRUMOINS.271

wouldclass asEuboicare,on the contrary, f the usualpale-colouredlectrum, tanding n the proportionf 10 to 1to silver,and though scarcelydistinguishablen weightfrom hocaicgold,mayI think be includedn a separatecategory. We have seen that in every district wheresilver was coined, whether on the Babylonic, the

Asiatic,or the iEginetic standard, previouselectrumcoinagehad existed,the staters of which weighed167,220,and207grainsrespectively. Arguingfrom nalogy,wemight expectto find that the Euboicsilver stater of130 grainsas first ssued n Chalcisand Eretria,hadalsobeenprecededby an electrum oinageof ike weight andthat such a coinageactuallyexisted,not only n Euboeabut onthe oppositeoastsof the -ZEgean,s I aminclinedto think apableofproof. Beforedescribingheelectrumcoinsof this standard, t maybeperhapsof useto remindmy readers f the important osition ccupiedby ChalcisandEretria as trading ities in the eighth nd seventhcenturies .c.

These twocities, lthough n populationtheymaynothave rivalledthe more celebrated cities of Corinth orAthens,wereyet more influential han either f them nspreadingGreekcultureand Greek deas overthe ancientworld.

Theywere the great rivals of Miletus, nd the

starting-points f the colonistsbound for the shores ofItaly and Sicilyand the northern oastsof the ^Egean.Thepeninsulaof Chalcidice,from he number f Chalci-diancolonieswhich t had received,was namedafter heirmother city. The coloniesof Eretria werehardly essnumerous,nd were for the most part dotted about thepromontory f Paliene and round the foot of MountAthos. These twotownswere, ccording oGrote, the

mostpowerful nd enterprising onic cities n European



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Greece, pparently urpassingAthens and not nferior oSamos andMiletus." Their ships coveredthe seas andcarried henativecopperoreofEuba,forwhichChalciswasso famous and fromwhichits namewas derived, othe coasts of Asia, of Thrace,of Italy, and of Sicily,bringing back in exchangethe productsof every and.

The preciousmetals n particular lowedplentifullyntothe island of Euba- thegoldof the East,the electrumof Sardes,and especiallysilver from the highlandsofChalcidice,n whichdistrict o less than thirty-two owns,chiefly ngagedin mining,had been foundedby Chalcisalone,withoutcountingmanyof whichEretria was themother ity.

From Asia- probablyfrom Samos the Eubansim-ported hegoldstandard ccording owhich hey weighedthis silver, and whichunder the name of the Euboicstandardwas,by means of the widespreadcommercialrelationsof the two great Euban cities, soon madeknown over the wholeGreek world. This must havetaken place in the courseof the eighth century, ndbefore he war which ometime before .c. 700brokeoutbetweenChalcisandEretria,nominally or he possessionof the fields f Lelantum,which aybetween hetworivalcities. This war was in reality contestfor maritimesupremacy, n which the commercialnterests f eachtown were at stake. This is evidentfrom the universalcharacterwhich it assumed. Nearly all the importantstatesof Greece tookone sideor the other, nd the wholeJEgeanSeabecameonevasttheatre n whichthe quarrelwas tobefoughtout. Corinthtookthe side of Chalcis,Corcyrathat of Eretria. Samos andMiletusalso tookoppositesides in the contest. This separationof allGreeceintotwo hostile

campswe must

supposeto have



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M TROLOGICALOTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.273

beenoccasionedy the commercial elations f the severalstates, he interests f somebeing morecloselyboundupwith one party, thoseof others with the other. Theintimate alliance of Samos at this period both withCorinth and Chalcis is mostsignificant,nd it is surelyno mere chance coincidence that the earliest coins of

these three states follow one and the same standard,namely, heEuboic. This is what leads me to supposethat t wasthrough amosthat bothEuboea andCorinthreceived his standardfromAsia,the periodof peaceandrenewed commercialprosperity which succeeded theLelantianwars,beingthe time to which the earliest elec-trum oins mustbeassigned.

Theelectrum oins of Samos andChalcis,which havenow the pleasureof publishingfor the first ime,datefrom bout this period, nd are specimensf this earlyelectrum oinageon the Euboicstandard,which in myopinion precededhesilvercoinagen precisely he sameway as the silver of the Babylonic,Phoenician,andj3Eginetictandardswas alsoprecededby electrum.

Thefollowings a list of all the electrumcoins whichI woulddistinguish s Euboicfrom those which followthe Phocaic standard. Theyare,as will benoticed, ome-whathigher n weight hancorresponding enominationsof the Phocaicsystem.

EUBOICSTANDARD.Doublbtater.

Wt, City. Obverse. Reverse.269 Corcyra? "GardensfAlcinoua."wo blongncuses.[PI.X.1.]Stater.

133-1Corcyra Similar. Twodeepncuses,neoblong,the othersquare*.[Mller,Mon. e'Ane. fr.," uppl.l. . 1.]



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Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.133*5Samos. Lion'scalpacing. Twodeepncuses,netriangularnd ou

oblong.[Pl.X.4. FoundtPriene.]

Half-Stater.66*2Samos. Lion'scalp, acing. Incusequare.LP1.X..]67*6Samos. Headf ioness,eft. Incusequare.[Brit.Mus.]

Thirds.44*4Uncertain. Lumpyype f uncer- ncusequare,tain orms.

[FoundtPriene.]44-1Uncertain. Doubtfulype. Incusequare.[FoundtPriene.]

Sixths.21*8 Chalcis. Wheel. Incuse

quare.[Pl.X.7. Bank fEngland.]22*1Chalcis. Eaglelying,ight. Incusequare.[Pl.X.8. FoundtPriene.]

21*1CymenEu- Half-horse,ight. Incusequare,ba[Pl.X.11.]

22*5Uncertain. Four cuneiformori- ncuse ircle,zontalines.[Pl.X.12.]

20*3Uncertain. Smallnimalfdoubt-ncusequare,ful species,bovewhicharksf alue[Pl.X.13.]Twelfth.

9*7Uncertain. Similarnimal,ight. ncusequare.[Brit.Mus.]

Ofthe abovedescribed oinsthe first wo reattributedby Mller to Cyrene, nd if the typecan be provedtobe as he calls it, "deux poussesde Silphium,"I havenothing osay againsthis attribution but to myeyesitseemsrather o resemble he ornament ometimesalled



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METROLOGCALNOTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.275

the Gardens of Alcinouson the coins of Corcyra,towhichisland the reverse ype,consistingof two oblongincuse depressions,would alsoseem to point. (Cf. Pl.IX. 1 and 2.) In this case wemight ttribute hese twoprimitivepiecesto that island,which,from ts intimateconnectionwith Corinth s well as withEuboea,15may be

presumed n remotetimes to havemadeuse of the samestandard as its mother city for weighingthe preciousmetals (Curtius, HermesBd., x. p. 224), and not tohavepassedoverto the JEginetic tandarduntil after tsrupture with Corinth. We may even point to one ortwo archaicsilver coins with the Corcyreanypeof thecowsucklingher calf,and with the Euboicdiagonallydivided incuse square, weight about 130 grains (PI.IX. 3),which, f Corcyrean, epresent his earliest ilvercoinageof the island. Thesecoinsare classedas un-certain in the British Museum. I have some doubtswhether o attribute them to Corcyraor to the islandof Euboeaitself, to which the type would be equallyappropriate.

If, on the other hand, Mller's attribution f theelectrum tater to Cyrenebe preferred,t would in noway affectmy thory that these electrumcoins are ofthe Euboicstandard, ut wouldmerely end to showanearlycommercialntercourse etween hatcity nd Samos,a connectionwhich it is well known existed in later

15 Corcyra,ikeEuboea,riginallyore hename fMaoris,and wasbyancientmyths s well as byrecurring ameson-nected nmanywayswith he atter sland." " TheChalcidianshadconstitutedorcyrahe tarting-pointf a wider xtensionofHellenicolonization,ranchingut n several irections."Curtius, ist.Gr. If thisbebornenmind,t shouldauseusno surpriseofind n Corcyralectrumtruck n theEuboicstandard.



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times. Theearlysilver of Cyrene, t is needless osay,also followshe Euboicstandard.

Of the five coins standingnext in the list, the staterweighing 133.5, and the thirds weighing 44.4 and44.1 respectively, re now for the first ime published,having been lately discoverednear the site of Priene,

on the coastof the mainland,nearlyoppositethe island,of Samos. Thetwo half-statersweighing66.2and 67.6have lain for years unnoticed n the collectionof theBritish Museum. The types of the stater and the twohalf-staters re so clearlySam: n that I havenohesita-tion whatever n attributing hem to that island. Thecharacter of the modellingof the lion's scalpon thestater s more archaic than that of any other coin withwhich amacquainted.

The islandof Samoswas in the eighthand followingcenturiesone of the chief maritime powersamongtheHellenicStates. Its situation, eparatedas it wasby anarrowstrait from the mainland of Asia, rendered itthe natural outlet through which the productsof theinterior nd of the coastlands of Asia made their wayacrossto the oppositeontinent, nd eveninto the remotelandsof the West, for t wasa Samianship whichfirstpassed the pillars of Herculesand made the Greeksfamiliarwiththe phenomenonf the tides. Samosmaytherefore ave beenthe meansof introducingnto Eubathe gold standardwhichwasadoptedin the atter sland,and this suppositions borne out by the weightsof thecoinsnow before s. Theseare clearlyelectrumof theso-calledEuboicstandardof the very earliestperiodofthe art of coining. The intimate connectionexistingbetweenthe peopleof Samos and those of Euba, as

beingthe two

greatestmaritime

powersof

Greece,



35/65


cannot fail to have brought about an interchangeofcommoditieswhichwouldhave rendered t a matter fcommercialolicyto institute similarcoinagein thetwo islands. Hence we may infer that the cities ofEuba,in adoptinga coinageof their own,wouldstriketheir silveron the same standard s the Samian electrum.

Thesamereasonswill applyto Corinth and if Pheidonof Argosselected nother nd a different tandardfor hecurrency of his dominions, his may be explainedbysupposingthat the trade of Argos and .Eginawaschiefly arried on with Miletusand thosecities of Asiawhich had adopted the Phoenician standard. Hence,also, the choice of the tortoise, the symbol of thePhoeniciangoddessof the sea,for he coinsof-ZEgina.

Thediscoveryf these earliest lectrum oinsof Samosfillsup a periodin the numismatic istory f the sland,ofwhichno coinswerehitherto nown,but duringwhichit is inconceivable hat a Stateof the mportancef Samosshouldhavebeen behindher neighbour nd rival Miletusin issuingcoins of her own.

The relations f Samos with Euba wouldalsoleadusto believe that after he ssue ofthe Euboean silverSamosmust have also struck silver money and there exist,indeed,everal

specimensf silver of Euboicweightwhich

may perhaps be Samian. I allude to two pieces inthe BritishMuseum,lassedamongthe uncertain. Theseare .

1. Obv. Half- ull wimming,ight.Rev. Incusesquare,with transverseines.M, weight185grs. Pl.IX.6).

2. Obv. Lion'sscalpfacing.

Rev. Incusesquare. M weight 3*1grs. Brit.Mus.)VOL.XV.N.S. oo



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Thus also in Samos,as in Corcyra,f my attributionsbe accepted,we find both electrumand silver of theEuboicstandard n the earliest imes. This standard nCorcyraon her rupture with Corinth was replacedbythe iEginetic,while in Samos,probably bout the timeof Polycrates,t madewayfor he Asiatic or Phoenician

standard,whichhad from the first revailedat Miletus,and accordingto which silver wasafterwards oined atSamos.(Seeabove,p. 265,note12.)

Of the five hectaedescribedabove,the first s in thecollectionof the Bank of England,and the secondwaslatelyfound with the stater of Samos. Dr. vonSaliet,in the Zeitschrift fr Numismatik,Bd. iii. p. 134,publishesa silver coin of Chalcis in Euboea,whichunitesthe typesof the two hectaewhich wouldgivetothe samecity. Obv. Eagle,with erpent n beak,flying,right. Rev. AAV [XAA]Wheel; weight, 2 grains.(Pl. IX. 10.) The type of the eagle and serpent swellknown on the later coins of Chalcis,and the lateresearchesof Dr. Imhoof-Blumernd ProfessorCurtius(Hermes,Bd. x.225)have resulted n the restoration oChalcisof the series of coins,previously houghtto beAthenian,withthe wheel-type.

Here, then, we have two Euboicelectrumcoins,thetypes of both of which point to Chalcis. The fact hatoneof them was found near the coasts of Samos isalsomuch in favour f my attribution, hen the alliance ofthat island with Chalcis in the Lelantian war is re-membered, nd when it is borne in mind how closewerethe commercial elations f thesetwo cities.

The wheel (Pl. IX. 9) seemsto have been theprincipaltype of Chalcis inearly times, nd its preva-

lenceamongthe coinsof the Thraco-Macedonianribes



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METROLOGICLOTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS. 279

(cf. the piecesof Ichnae,Tuntenon,Eminako,Orreskii,&c. Saliet. 1. c. Zeit. f. Num., Bd. iii. Pl. II.) issignificant s tending to show the extentof the Chalci-dian trade for t wasprobablyfrom hecoins of Chalcisin Euboea,which doubtless circulatedfreely moDghercoloniesin Macedn,that these peoplesderived a type

whichappearsto be common o so manyof them. Thefactthat the coinsofChalcis with thewheel-type id cir-culatein Macednis provedby their being frequentlyfound there at the present day. (Curtius,Hermes,Bd.X.p. 225.)

The restoration f the archaic silver coinsof varioustypes, hitherto generally treated as Athenian, to theisland of Euboea,s a real step n advance for hescienceof numismatics,nd it only remains now to decide towhatcities the severaltypes re to be assigned.Of theseI think the two or three best known may be thusdistributed the wheel to Chalcis(Pl. IX. 9), the Gor-goneionto Ertria, nd the amphorato Ceos,in whichisland the same change of standard from Euboic to-ZEgineticould thenbeobservablewhiqhwehavenoticedin Coreya. 6

The coins of Eretria, no less than those of Chalcis,wouldbe current

mongher coloniesin the Isthmusof

Paliene,and probablyserved as models forthe coinageofNeapolis,an important own n that district.

J6 r. Imhoof-lumerwas,as far s I amaware,hefirst osuggestherestorationoEuboeaf someof the archaic ilvercoinspreviouslyivento Athens. Prof.E. Curtius1. c.)appears,ndependentlyf Dr. ImhoofBlumer,ohave rrivedat the same onclusion.Althoughhereforehere an be nolonger doubt hat the majorityf thedidrachmsnd smallerdivisionsf various ypes, ttributed y Beul to Athensshouldnowbe restored oEuba, am still arfrom ffirm-ing that someof thesetypesmaynot be Solonian.Among



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But to return o tlieelectrum. Myattribution f thesetwo hectesto Chalis showsthat the same phenomenonwhich I haYeelsewhereremarked s also noticeablenEuba. Iallude tothecoinagen the seventh entury, felectrum nd silveruponone and the same standard. InEuba,in Samos,n Coreya (or perhaps Cyrene), his

standardwasEuboic. In Lydiait appearsto have beentwofold,viz., both Babylonicand Phoenician. In theIonian coast towns, Miletus,Ephesus,Cyme,and at alater period in Lampsacua,Abydos,Chios,Clazomense,and Samos,&c.,it wasPhoenician,nd in the dominionsofPheidon ofArgos t was iEginetic,but everywherehetwometalsfollow ne and the samestandard, nd standto oneanother n the proportion f 10 to 1.

Of the three remaininghectae,one has the type ofCyme the fore-part f a horse the other two are un-certain. Thefirst f these piecesI am inclined o attri-bute to Cymein Euba,although it is by no meansimpossiblehatCymein iEolis mayhave beenits placeof mintage forwe knowthat the Asiatic Cymewas atone time connectedwith Cymeand Chalisin Euba;and we find these two cities combiningto found thecolonyof Cumse n Italy. This gives us a clue to theside which the Asiatic Cyme may have taken in thecommercialwars, in which we may presumethat shesided with her old ally Chalis,and with Samos. Itwould thereforenot be surprising to find a similarthese wouldclass thedidrachmith theowl Beul,p. 17).The didrachm ith the bull's headfacing ivenby Gardner(Num.Chron., .S.,vol.xiii.,Pl.VII.2) to Athens, shouldprefer, owever,o attribute o Eretria,withwhichcitytheGurgoueionn the tetradrachm ith the samebull'shead onthereverseeems oconnectt. Mr. Gardner ives hem othto Athens butnowthat he Gorgoneionasbeenrestored oEuba,the bull's head canhardly ssert a claimto be thelong-sought-forttic ov.



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M TROLOGICALOTESON ANCIENTLECTRUMOINS.281

electrum oinagehere also. Thefact that an electrumstater of Phoenicianweight (220 grains) also bearsthetypeof Cyme,wouldseemto pointto a changeof policywhich nducedthe rulersof that city to prefer he Asiaticto the Euboic standard. A similar hangeof standard salso noticeablet Corcyra, t Ceos,and at Samos. The

two former tateshavingat an earlyperiodexchangedheEuboicfor the -Eginetic tandard,and the latter, ikeCyme, he Euboicfor he Phoenician.

V. Phocaic.The staters of the Phocaic standardare less ancient

than the primitive lectrumcoins of Miletus,Ephesus,Sardes,&c., of the Phoenician standard. These latterprobably easedto be issuedin any considerableuantityduring the Milesianwar, b.c. 623 612, althoughthehectae and smaller divisionsmay have survived to thetime of Crsus,who,as we haveseen,reorganized heentire coinageof his kingdom, bolishingelectrum ndsubstituting doublecurrency n gold and silver. Theunit ofthe goldcoinageofCroesuswas thesixtieth art ofthe light Babylonianmina, weighingabout 130 grains(maximum),r 125grainsactualweight.

Nowbetweenthe cessationof the Milesian

electrum,circ.612,and the accessionof Croesusn 560,there s aperiodof about half a century, uringwhichthe cityofPhocseaseemsto have obtaineda considerablencreaseofpowerand influence,moreespeciallyupon the sea. Itmaytherefore e considereds certain hat the rise andextensionof the Phocaicstandard coincideswith thisperiod, during which the Phocseans,owing in partperhaps othe troubles f Miletus, re said to have been

supreme ponthe sea (aarroKparcv).hisperiod, ccord-ing to Eusebius(Chron. II., ed. Mai., p. 331), lasted



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forty-four ears, ommencingrom .c.575 It has,how-ever,beenproved hat this dateis erroneous,nd that thecommencementf the PhocaeanThalassocracyhould beplacedin the yearB.c.602.17 From this time until thatof Croesus,heinfluencef Phocsea,bothby sea andland,appearstohave beensufficientlytrong ocarry hrough

reformnthegoldcurrency f he greater artoftheAsiaticcoast lands and it is worthy f remark hat the statersof the Phocaicstandard, s originally ssuedby the citiesof Phocaea,Teos,Cyzicus,nd others, re not of the pale-colouredlectrum f the old Milesianstandard, ut are ofcomparativelyure gold, nd that theyfollow he standardafterwards doptedby Croesus orhis royal gold coinage,thePhocaic staterweighing 56grainsmaximum,which s,allowingfor slight percentage f alloy, just double thevalue of the staters of Croesus. This is a coincidencewhichleads me to infer that the cities which took partwith Phocaeain the issue of this newcoinageintendedtheir money o circulate s goldand not as electrum, ndthat, therefore, lthough they retainedthe globularformof coinwith which the AsiaticGreeks had beenso longfamiliar, hey t the same time elected he oldBabylonicgoldstandard, ith ts sixtieth f 260 grains, s their newgoldstater.

The citiesof whichwe possessgold staters of Phocaicweight are the following Phoca Obv. Seal. Rev.- Two shallow ncusesquaresof different izes,wt.254grs. (Pl. X. 6.) Teos Obt>. TS OM Griffin's ead,right. Rev Incuse square, wt. 256 grs. (Brandisp. 397.) Sardes? Obv Lion's head with openjawsand protruding ongue. Rev. Rough incuse square,

17Goodwin,Depotenti eterumentium aritimpochisapudEusebium."Gttingen,855.



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METROLOGICA ,OTESONANCIENT LECTRUM OINS.283

wt. 248 grs. (Pl. X. 8.) Cyzicus. Obv Tunny-fishbetween wofillets. Rev Two incusesquaresofdifferentsizes,the smaller one containing cray-fish (ora/cs),wt. 252 grs. (Pl. X. 7.)18 Zeleia Troadis ObvChimaera. Rev. Two incusesquaresof different izes,wt. 252 grs. (Pl. X. 9), wrongly escribedas a lion by

Brandis,and therefore rroneouslyttributed y him toMiletus. To the new attribution ere proposedI shallpresently return. Thasos or Thrace Obv Centaurcarrying ff woman. Rev Deepincusesquaredividedintoquarters,wt. 252 grs. (Pl. X. 11.)

Here are in all six types of the stater ssuedby sixdifferent ities, n myopinionbetween boutb.c.600and560, when Croesuswas able to imposehis new Lydiancoinage uponall the Greek coasttowns.

It has beengenerally upposedhat the Phocaiccoinagewas contemporary ith the Milesian,and that Miletuscontemporaneouslyith her electrum f 220 grainsstruckgold on the Phocaic standard of250 grains Brandis,p.395); and the stater ttributed o that city, withthe typeof the ion's headdescribedbove,hasevenbeenconsideredby Burgon to be the oldest of all Greekcoins. In myjudgmentboth the Milesianoriginand the supposedhighantiquity of this piece are exceedinglydoubtful. Thestyle n whichthe ion's headisexecuteddiffersessentially

18 hetypewithin he mall ncuse quareon thereverse fthis tater fCyzicus ppearsobe a fish f he ame peciessthatwhich ccurss anadjunctymbol y he ideofthe nchoron the silver oins ately ttributed yDr.Imhoof-BlumeroAncore. I haveenturedo call this reaturencrraK,hichwe earn rom picharmusas aspeciesfcrab. If thisbethecorrect ame,t s probablytype arlant eferringo hecity fAstacus nthePropontis.In this nstancet wouldeadustoinfer hat he goldofCyzicuswas currentn theformerity,suppositionhichs prim aciexceedinglyrobable.



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from hat of the earlycoinsofMiletus, nd maybe calledbarbaric rather than archaic. It bears a much closerresemblance,n the other hand,to the lions' headsuponthe staters f Crsus, ut is even moreroughly xecuted.Nowit seemsto have beenfrom he first he policyoftheMermnadaen Lydiato render hecoinageof Sardes con-

formable,n the one hand,to that of the wealthiest ndmost important of the Greek coast towns with whichSardescarried on an activecommercialntercourse,ndon the otherwiththe vast empires f the interior. Thuswe seeCrsus,at a later period, nstituting currencyin pure gold with two staters of 167 and 130grainsrespectively,heformer epresentinghe valueofan elec-trum tater f the Asiatic tandard 220 grains), helatterthat of a Babylonicelectrum tater (167grains), whileat the same time t wasequalto half that of the staters fthe Phocaicsystem 260grains).

I would thereforeuggestthat the goldstaterwiththelion'sheadabovedescribedmaybealsoLydian,and thatit mayrepresent n endeavour n the part of the previousKing of Lydia, Alyattes,to assimilatehis currencynotonly n value,but alsoin fabric, othat of the Ioniccoasttowns and as at this timethe influencef Phocaeaseemsto have been

predominant,nd the Phocaicgold stater o

be little by little ousting the Milesian electrum,soAlyattes, n order to facilitatentercourse ith the Greekcities whichhad adoptedthis standard, truck thesegoldstaters f the fabric nd weightof thoseof Phocaea.

The attribution f this coin to Sardes rather thanMiletusis of more importance han might be at firstimagined,since it enables us to define within more7reasonableimits he territory verwhich the influence f

Phocaeaextended,while at the same time we are no



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METROLOGICA .OTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.285

longer compelledto suppose that Miletus suddenlychangedthe standard of her coinage,or issued contem-poraneouslyoins of two different ystems, or t is pro-bable that during the period to which I propose toattribute he issueof Phocaicgold, viz., b.c. 600 560,Miletuswas still striking hectae n the Asiaticstandard,

although doubtless the activity of her mint had beenmuchaffected y her warswithLydia.I nowpassto the stater, bovedescribedp. 283),having

on the obverse Chimaeradvancingto the eft Pl. X. 9).The Chimaera,nlike the lion or the bull,is a type sounusual,that the attribution f a coinbearingthe figureof this mythicalmonster s of necessityimited oa smallnumber f localities. Lycia is the land wherethe Belle-rophonmythhad its rise, nd from ycia it spreadacrossthe sea to Corinth ndSicyon,he coinsofwhich ities redistinguishedy the figures f Pegasusand the Chimaera.But neither Lycia nor Peloponnesuscan assuredly ayclaimto a goldstaterof the Phocaicstandard. Theyareboth too far removed rom he north-western ortionofAsiaMinor,wherethe nfluence f Phocaeawassufficientlystrong to inducecities in her vicinity, uch as Teosandpossibly ardes,and others n the circleof her maritimetrade, uch as Dardanus,Cyzicus,and Selymbriaon thePropontis, o adopt the Phocaic standardfor their goldcoinage.

Let us therefore onfine ur attention o this district,and there searchfor any tracesof the Chimaeraegend." TheTroadandLycia" (saysCurtius, ist. Gr.,Eng.Tr.,vol. i. p. 84) " are countries ntimately elatedto oneanother they worshipthe same gods, such as ZeusTriopas,andApollo the sameheroes, uchas Pandarus

they have the same names for rivers and mountains.VOL.XV.N.S. P P



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Part of the TroadwascalledLyciaafter ts inhabitants,just as Lycians in their own country alledthemselvesTrojans." Here then is an important lue whichI maybeallowedto follow p still further. Plutarch De Mul.Virt., ix.) has the followingremarkablepassage:- urb5' kvvKaytvia-Oaiey/xevovxvOiSesxvotlv, xet riva

rfxrjv/iov xaprvpovcrav'AfiuruiSaposp>ws />acriv,vIcrpavAvKLOLaXoV(TLVyjKCVK TSTplXciaVLTTOLKiaSVKLV,^O"-rp8s ayuivaus, vXifiappos/yetro,toXc/Iot^sicvvrp9/s8c KalOrjptASrjqrXciSe irXota)covraikv 'ovri irpwpaOev&rik8c rpvimrjspxovra,al TroXXolkolovsAvklovinoukur'v


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METROLOGICA .OTESONANCIENT LECTRTJMOINS. 287

Chimseras here as muchat home as in Lyciaitself,19ndwhen we take into consideration he fact that Zeleiabelongedo the territory f Cyzicus,20romwhich it wasdistant only about twenty English miles, while it wasonlyeightmilesfrom hesea,on the iEsepus,the largestriver of Mysia,the attribution f the Chimaera tater an

nolongerbe a matter f doubt.Zeleiawas probably,therefore, place of someim-portance, nd the attribution oit of the above-mentionedPhocaic staters in a measure onfirmed y the existenceof a silvercoin in the collectionf the British Museum(Pl. X. 10),which I wouldventure lso to ascribeto theLycian colonysettled n this part of the Troad. It isperhapssomewhatater in date21 hanthe goldstater, sit bears a doubletype. On the obverse s a Chimaera,whichin its massive and somewhathick-setproportionsexhibits striking esemblance o thatuponthegoldcoin,whileon the reverse s a Gorgoneionprecisely imilartothat withwhichwe are familiar n the silvercoinsof theneighbouring ity of Abydos. Althoughthis nteresting

19t is wellknown hat theLycianheroBellerophonasaform f the Sun-godvidePreller,Gr. Myth.i. p. 78),andit sworthyf remark hatthenameof thecity eleia ppearsto be also connectedith that of Heliosvide nMarquardt,

Cyzicusund sein

Gebiet, . 129): "Etym.M.

p. 408,40.

ZeA. awvfiao-raLar eXvlvo, tr rv Htovv vrjjXtavtvo-czivOacnddesSchol.. Ilias.4.v. 108,p.125,41 Bekk.fvi rfj I rjAvKta 7ra'aiv e'etakoXZltoiarrvA-n-o.-Xcovav avrfXlavevo-eetaaL,elchebeide dieVermuthungSchwenksesttigen,assdie Namen SAa,Zc'a,cXcta,ichaufdenCultdesSonnengotteseziehen."20trab. iii.p. 83,Icrrt vv jZeetawKv^lktjvuv.lthoughZeleia afterwardsormedart f the territory f Cyzicus,t isprobablehat n the sixth century .c. t was independentfthat ity, houghoth ne and theotherweredoubtlessribu-tary oLydia.21 he name f Zeleiaoccursnthe istof cities

ributaryo

Athenss earlys theyearb.c.452(Khler,Gesch.d. Delisch-Attischesundes, . 10).



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Doubtless,n latertimes, hemonetaryeagueor eagues,at the head ofwhichPhocaeaand Cyzicusappearto havestood,ncluded farmore widelyextendedconfederationof towns, he coins of this later Phocaeanleaguebeingfor hemostpart distinguishablerom hoseofthe earliertimesby the pale colourof the metal of which they re

composed,nd in verymany nstancesby the additiontothe main typeof the adjunctsymbol f Phocaea,the seal.The earlier hocaicgoldcoinageeems,ntheother and,

to have been a currency f novery ongduration,f we mayjudgefrom he extreme arity f everyoneof the knowntypesofthe stater. It wasprobablylready n the declinewhenCroesus scendedthe throne f Lydia; andthe ssueofhisnewgoldcoins,whichsoon attained high reputa-tion for purity f metal,doubtlessontributedn no smalldegreeto discredit the Phocaicgold,which, lthoughfarpurer han the Milesianelectrum,was lesspurethan thenew imperial coinageof Lydia. The fall of Sardes,n546,andthe breakingup of the LydianEmpire,andwithit ofthe mildandbeneficentule of Croesus,whosepolicyit had been to cultivate he friendship f the Greeks, ndto developethe resources f his kingdom owardshesea,brought boutconsequencesf vital importanceo all theGreek citiesof Asia,for

heywerenowfor he first ime

brought ace to face with the Persians,war with whomthey oon foundto be a verydifferent hing from hatwhichtheyhad been accustomedo wagewith the halfHellenizedpeopleof Lydia. All trade withthe nterior,lately so flourishing, ame to an abrupt standstill, ndthenbegana vastemigration, he inhabitants f someofthe towns forsaking heir homes en masserather thansubmit o therule of the Barbarian andthus the culture,

the arts, nd the luxuryof Ionia spreadthemselves ver



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the western ands. The autonomousold coinageof thecoast townsfinally eased withthe cessationof friendlyrelations etween the coast and the interior, nd unlessweattribute he gold staterwith the type of a Centaurcarrying off woman, o Thasos,Macedn,or Thrace,towhich district he type would seem topoint, nd where

the peopleof Teosemigratedn 541,recolonisinghe oldcityof Abdera,we may safely ffirm hat the coinageingoldby the Greeks died out in the middle of the sixthcentury, nd that for the spaceof a hundredyearsthePersian daries werethe onlycoins in that metal currentin the ancientworld. Perhapsnot until after the Athe-nian hegemonyhad begun to wane,and that city aftercityceasedto paytribute o Athens,dowenotice, n anymarkeddegree,a revivalat Cyzicuson the Propontis fthe ancient lectrum oinage.Lampsacus,Phocaea,Chios,andother tates hen followedheexampleof Cyzicus,llstriking oins whichin their form nd fabric recall theancientpiecesof electrum, ut the styleof whichbetraysa laterperiodofart.24

21M. Ch.Lenormant,ev.Num., 856,wasof opinionhattheperiodf he emissionf theCyzicenetatersnd hectaybetweenboutb.c.420and881,and that by far he greaternumber erestruck etweenhePeaceof Antalcidas,n 887,andthe atter ate. I am,however,nclinedothink hat hecommencementf this coinagedatesfrom somewhat arlierperiod, hich,udging romhestyle f the art upon ome ftheearlier pecimens,should aymight e about hemiddleof thefifth entury. t is true hatthe earliestmentionn n-scriptionsf Cyzicenetaters,s intheaccountof the publicexpensesf heAtheniansn 01.90*4=b.c. 417(F. Lenormant,Rev. Num.1867,p. 848) but as early s b.c. 445in theLygdanisnscriptionNewton,iscoveriest Halicarnassus,c.,Yol.II. Part I. p. 671)mentions madeof a rjiUktov1.26)andof staters 1.88.) Mr.Newtononjectureshatthe coinshere alluded o, mayhave beenadjusted ccordingo theMilesiantandard, he stater f whichweighed220grains



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METROLGICALOTESONANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.291

As in the present rticle I do not attemptmorethan asketch of the early electrumcoinagesanterior to thePersianconquest, must dismissthe Cyzicenestaters sextraneous omy subject. I may,however,mention hata late important ind of this class of coins,containingmanynew,or at anyrate unpublished, arieties,mayere

longaddmuchto our knowledgef this beautiful eries.The followings a list of the early Phocaic electrumcoins. It will be remarked hat although hestaters rearchaicin style, omeof the smaller divisionsareappa-rently f later work. The coinageof thesemayperhapshavecontinued or timeunderPersian rule after hatofthe largercoinshad beensuppressed.

PHOCAICTANDARD.Staters.

Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.254 Phocsea. Seal,ight,eneath Twoncusequaresfdifferentizes.[Pl.X.6.]

256 Teos. TSCM.Griffin'sead.Smallncusequare.[Brandis,.397.]248 Sardes Headf ion,eft, oar- ncusequarerough),ing.[Pl.X.8.]252 Cyzicus. TunnyishetweenwoTwoncusequares,hefillets. largerne ontainingzigzagrnaments,he

smallerscorpionrcray-fisharaK).[Pl.X.7.]252*7Zeleia. Chimraalking,eft. Twoncusequaresfdifferentizes.

[Pl.X.9.]

(max.). I should,however,refer oconsiderhestaters ndtwelfths ere mentioneds of the laterPhocaic orCyzicenestandard,s know f nocoins f theMilesianwhich re notdistinctlyarliernstyle. In this case thecommencementfthe Cyzicenend Phocaeanoldcoinageof the laterperiodwoulddatefrom bout he middle f hefifty entury .c.



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Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.252 Thracer Centaurarryingff Deep incusesquareThaeos. woman. quartered.

[PI.X.11.]

Sixths.42-5Sardes Lion'shead, eft, n Incusequare,roundhield.

[Pl.X.

12.]403 Dardanus.Twoocks,aceoface. Incusequaremill-sailtype).[Pl.X.14.]40*3Selymbria Head fHerakles,eft, imilar.in lion's kin be-

neath,lub.[Pl.X.13.]

38*9Lesbos. Raisedquarequar- ncusesquarequar-tered). tered).[Brit.Mus.]40*3Uncertain. Kose nd

igzagrna-Two

ncusequaresfment. differenthapes.[Pl.X.10.]Twelfth.

20*3Phocsea. Head feal,eft. Incusequare.[Pl.X. 16.BankfEngland.]Twenty-foukths.

10*2 Teos. Headf riffin,ight. Incusesquare, uar-tered.[Pl.X. 18.BankfEngland.]

10 Ery h ae. Mann alf-horse,ight. ncusequare.[Pl.X.17. BankfEngland.]9 Lesbos Raisedsquare,uar- ncusesquaremill-teredaround,ots. sail ype).[Brit. us.]

8.7 Lesbos Raisedquare,uartered.ncusesquare,uar-tered.[Brit. us.]

Forty-eighths.4*7Phocsea. Headf eal,eft. Incusequare.

[Brit.Mus.]



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METROLOGICALOTESON ANCIENT LECTRUMOINS.293

Wt. City. Obverse. Reverse.5-2 JEg'd Head f oat. Incusequare,ontain-[Brit.Mus.] inghreeellets.

4'8 Lesbos. Raisedsquare,uar- Incusequare,tered.[Bit.Mus.]

4. Conclusion.In the preceding agesI have endeavoured ogive anaccountof the rise and extension f the early electrumand gold currenciesof the Greeks,both on the Asiaticand Europeansides ofthe Egean.Fromthe complicatednatureof the subjectI have,however, ound t a difficultmatter o convey omyreaders clearidea of the chrono-logicalsequenceof the coinsof the several systemswhichhaveformed he

subjectof my remarks, s it hasbeen

necessaryo treat of each separateclass in a sectionbyitself a method f arrangement hich has also beenforthe most part followed n the Plates which accompanythis article, where I venture to think that a strictlychronologicallassificationwouldhave been less intel-ligible than that which has been adopted. To remedythis defect appenda chronologicalable,by meansofwhichI trust hat t willbecomparativelyasyto arrive

at an approximatedea of the dates of the first ssueofthe severalcurrencies.Barclay V. Head.

VOL. XV.N.S. Q Q



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294 NUMISMATICHRONICLE,

6. APPENDIX.Explanationf the Plates.

Plate VII.

1. Uner aiD. El. Stater. Earliesteriod robablyydiaii,oftheBabylonictandard.2. Sardes. El.Stater, beforeCroesus,f the Asiatic

Standard.3. Miletus. El. Stater, earliestperiod,of the AsiaticStandard.4. Ephesus. El.Stater, arliest eriod 5. Samos. El. Stater,periodof Polycrates of theAsiatic tandard.6. Chios. El.Stater, f heAsiatictandard.7. Abydos. El. Stater. 8. Lampsacus.El. Stater. ,,

Plate YIII.1. Uncertain. El.HalfStater. Asiatictandard.2. j> ,,3. >> ff ),4. Miletus. ,,5. Uncertain. El.Third. ,,6. Ephesus. ,,7. h >> ,,8. Dardanus. ,,9. Miletus. ,,10.Ephesus. El. Sixth. ,,11. Uncertain.

(Miletus ) ,,12. Clazomensp. ,, ,,18. Uncertain. ,,14. El.Eighth. 15. Samos. El.Twelfth. 16. ^Egina. El. Stater. ^lginetic tandard.17. El. Fourth. 18. El. Twelfth. 19. ,, MStater.


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metrological notes on the ancient electrum coins struck between the lelantian wars and the accession...

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