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The three most important standards of the ancient Greek monetary system were the Attic standard, based on the Athenian drachma of 4.3 grams (2.8 pennyweights) of silver, the Corinthian standard based on the stater of 8.6 g (5.5 dwt) of silver, that was subdivided into three silver drachmas of 2.9 g (1.9 dwt), and the Aeginetan stater or didrachm of 12.2 g (7.8 dwt), based on a drachma of 6.1 g ...
In the late 18th century, copper coins circulated in denominations of q.1, q.2, and s.1, together with billon q.10 and silver 1 ⁄ 2, 1, 2, 5 and 10 paoli. In the early 19th century, copper s. 1 ⁄ 2 and s.2 were added, together with silver 1 lira and 10 lire. The 10-lira coin was known as dena and the 5-lira coin was known as meza-dena ...
The dinar (/ d ɪ ˈ n ɑː r /) is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار ( dīnār ), which was borrowed via the Syriac dīnarā from the Latin dēnārius .
The coin, usually made of silver or sometimes gold [2] had its origins in a bartering system that referred to a drachma as a handful of wooden spits or arrows. [3] The drachma was unique to each city state that minted them, and were sometimes circulated all over the Mediterranean. [ 4 ]
Coins of Taras (modern Taranto) from the 5th century BC. Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily originated from local Italiotes and Siceliotes who formed numerous city states. These Hellenistic communities descended from Greek migrants. Southern Italy was so thoroughly hellenized that it was known as the Magna Graecia. Each of the polities struck ...
Gold coins were almost continually produced by the Byzantines and medieval Arabs. These circulated in Western European trade in smallish numbers, originating from the coinage mints of the Eastern Mediterranean. In Western Europe, the gold coins of Byzantine currency were highly prized. These gold coins were commonly called bezants.
According to the researchers, the coins may have been part of a large merchant ship trading with the coastal cities and ports in the Mediterranean, and the coins may have been used to pay the salaries of the Fatimid military garrison. [101] In January 2021, researchers re-examined the coins discovered in 2015, and they retrieved hundreds more.
The Achaean standard consisted of a stater of around 8 g, divided into three drachms of 2.6 g and obols of 0.4 g; these weights declined over time. It was first used in the mid-sixth century by the Greek city-states of Sybaris, Metapontum, and Croton, which had been founded in Magna Graecia by Achaeans from the Peloponnese, and it remained one of the main standards in Magna Graecia until the ...