There are essentially three periods of Greek coins that make up an entire history line throughout ancient Greece. Grecians coins, along with Roman coins, are some of the oldest examples of vintage coins that one can have in their coin collection. The earliest coins were believed to be used in 600 BC and the increase in commerce over the next hundred years or so led to an increase in the use of coins too. The three different time periods we consider when talking about Greek coins are the Archaic Greek coins, Classical Greek coins and Hellenic Greek coins and each of them has their own place in history and in a coin collection.
Archaic Greek coins
The first hundred years or so of coin production in ancient Greece saw coins produced with images of sacred animals such as lions; these coins were known as archaic Greek coins. Soon the obverse of the coin also featured busts of the gods that the Greeks worshipped. These coins that were in use until around the year 479 BC were very heavy and really quite thick when compared to later Greek coins. Considering the amount of our artistic influence we take from the Greeks these early archaic coins were lacking in the art we would normally associate with ancient Greece as the side of a god's head was portrayed with their eye in the middle of the head, something like an owls.
Classical Greek coins
Next came the classical Greek coins dating from 479BC until Alexander the Great ascended as Emperor. It became typical to combine the secular symbol and god or hero pertaining to the particular city on either side of the coin.
Hellenistic Greek coins
Hellenistic coins actually went through different stages in the design that was used on them and began with similar images to those on earlier coins. However, with Alexander the Great came up with a new idea. He had coins created that featured the image of Hercules but with great similarities to himself, meaning he could still claim it was the god Hercules on the coin but he knew it was in fact him.
Collecting Greek coins
Collecting Greek coins is a fantastic hobby and can be an excellent start to any coin collection. By combining with a collection of Roman coins too you can get a reasonably priced large collection of antique coins without having to break the bank completely. By doing this you will be able to grow your collection almost infinitely. Roman and Greek coins are readily available to be bought at low prices. They are often available in large quantities of tens, hundreds or even thousands of coins for a greatly reduced rate. Many collectors find it necessary to specialize in either one country of origin or one time period and often if they specialize in Greek coins they will take it a step further and specialize in one of the specific time periods too. Specializing in this manner gives them a much greater opportunity to try and get as many relevant coins as possible to put towards their collection.
A wide array of coins for the collector
Because of the number of Greek rulers and Greek gods and heroes there have been a large number of different series of coins produced. Often under the rule of each ruler there were several different issues of coin. This means that there are a very large number of possibilities for the Greek coin collector to take advantage of and by doing so you can gain a large collection in a short space of time. Be warned though, while some of the more common coins are more than simply affordable some of the better specimens of the more rare coins can still fetch or cost a lot of money indeed.
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