![]() ![]() To prevent the stealing of money, the Spartans used iron bars as a substitute of the coins. Why did the Spartans use iron bars instead of coins? Its name derives from the Greek verb meaning “to grasp,” and its original value was equivalent to that of a handful of arrows. The drachma was one of the world’s earliest coins. Weighing 42.5 grams and reportedly worth $1 million, the coin is known as “Athens Dekadrachm” and there are only 40 of these rare coins in the whole world.ĭrachma, silver coin of ancient Greece, dating from about the mid-6th century bc, and the former monetary unit of modern Greece. When someone died they were buried with a couple of coins in their mouth to pay the ferryman Charon their passage across the river Styx to the underworld. Usually Greeks carried coins in their mouths since their clothing lacked pockets. What was ancient Greece money called?ĭrachma, silver coin of ancient Greece, dating from about the mid-6th century bc, and the former monetary unit of modern Greece. Lycurgus added to Sparta’s constitution a provision banning the circulation and possession of gold, silver, or other precious metals as a means of transacting business, replacing them with an iron currency (variously reported as being in the form of disc or of bars). League coinage for Sparta is relatively scarce, suggesting that the population and economy of the city had declined sharply. A silver drachma was typically a day’s pay for a skilled worker two obols would pay to feed a slave for one day. In the Greek system of weights, six obols equaled one drachma. They were struck in two denominations: hemidrachms (half-drachms) and triobols (three obols). Later in Spartan history, after the tetradrachm denomination had been abandoned, the Spartans began to issue small silver coins that typically weighed about 2.2 to 2.5 grams. A worker in Athens could earn about two drachmas a day. Often an Athenian coin could be used in other Greek cities and not have to be exchanged for the local currency. Their currency was widely used because of the large trade network that they developed. What did Athens use for money?Īthens used a currency known as the drachma. The Spartans were so opposed to the idea of coinage that their Lycurgan constitution forbade the possession and use of coinage within the city’s frontiers. This city had few issues of any consequence, which places them in high demand among collectors of ancient Greek coins. It was supposedly said to that just as it was red hot, it was quenched in vinegar, thus rendering the product unusable for any other purpose than money. Pelanor was the currency used in Sparta during the rule of Lycurgus. As you can imagine, other city-states were not anxious to receive iron as payment for goods. A thief would need a wagon to carry enough iron bars to be valuable. Legend says that an ancient Spartan leader decided to use iron as money to make it hard to steal. Why did the Egyptians use iron bars as a currency?.Are Spartan coins classical numismatics?.Why did the Spartans use iron bars instead of coins?. ![]()
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