ClipArt ETC

This Greek ClipArt gallery offers 87 illustrations of historic coins of Greece.

A ship on the acrostolium of which hangs a shield, an emblem of the mercantile and warrior city of Tyre. On the vessel stands Astarte, holding a palm branch in her left hand and a scepter in her right and directing two boys on the ship.

A Ship

A ship on the acrostolium of which hangs a shield, an emblem of the mercantile and warrior city of Tyre.…

Coin of the city of Acanthus.

Acanthus

Coin of the city of Acanthus.

Coin from the city of Aegina.

Aegina

Coin from the city of Aegina.

An illustration of a coin with depicting the face of Alexander the Great.

Alexander Coin

An illustration of a coin with depicting the face of Alexander the Great.

(356 B.C.-323 B.C.) Greek leader

Alexander the Great

(356 B.C.-323 B.C.) Greek leader

A medal with the portrait of Alexander the Great on one side; the other side shows the inscription <i>ALEXANDROU</i> with the first two Phenician letters of a city, AK or OK, and a date, 26, 16, or 17 years after his death.

Alexander the Great

A medal with the portrait of Alexander the Great on one side; the other side shows the inscription ALEXANDROU…

Alexander the Great's head on a silver coin of Lysimachus in 321-281 B.C.

Coin of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great's head on a silver coin of Lysimachus in 321-281 B.C.

"Coin of Alexander the Great. Alexander, at the time of his father's death, was in his twentieth year, having been born in B.C. 356." &mdash; Smith, 1882

Coin of Alexander the Great

"Coin of Alexander the Great. Alexander, at the time of his father's death, was in his twentieth year,…

Coin of the Greek city of Amphipolis.

Amphipolis

Coin of the Greek city of Amphipolis.

"Antiochus III. (Coin)" &mdash; Morey, 1903

Antiochus

"Antiochus III. (Coin)" — Morey, 1903

Medal of Antiochus Epiphanes.

Antiochus Epiphanes

Medal of Antiochus Epiphanes.

"Called also navis aperta, a ship which had no deck but was merely covered with planks in the front and hinder part, as is represented in the following cut. The ships which had decks were called cataphracti. At the time of the Trojan war the Greek ships had no decks, but were only covered over in the prow and stern." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aphractus

"Called also navis aperta, a ship which had no deck but was merely covered with planks in the front…

"An ornament of wooden planks, which constituted the highest part of the poop of a ship. From the representations of two ancient ships annexed, we see the position of the aplustre. It rose immediately behind the gubernator, who held the rudder and guided the ship, and it served in some degree to protect him from the wind and the rain." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aplustre

"An ornament of wooden planks, which constituted the highest part of the poop of a ship. From the representations…

Apollo, the god of day, his head surrounded by rays. His chariot bears similarities to a rainbow. It is drawn by three lions, under each of their exteriors, a head of a bull. These are all evidence of idolatry from the east.

Apollo

Apollo, the god of day, his head surrounded by rays. His chariot bears similarities to a rainbow. It…

The obverse and reverse sides of an ancient coin of Athens.

Coin of Athens

The obverse and reverse sides of an ancient coin of Athens.

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

Athenian Coin

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

Coin of Athens.

Athens

Coin of Athens.

"Coin of Athens." &mdash; Smith, 1882

Coin of Athens

"Coin of Athens." — Smith, 1882

"Attic Drachma" &mdash; Morey, 1903

Attic Drachma

"Attic Drachma" — Morey, 1903

"Gold appears not to have been coined at Athens till the time of the Macedonian empire, with the exception a solitary issue of a debased coinage in 407. But from a very early period the Asian nations, and he Greek cities of Asia Minor and the adjacent islands, possessed a gold coinage, which was more or less current in Greece. Herodotus says that the Lydians were the first who coined gold; and the stater of Croesus appears to have been the earliest gold coin known to the Greeks. The dario was a Persian coin. Staters of Cyzicus and Phocaea had a considerable currency in Greece. There was a gold coinage in Samos as early as the time of Polycrates." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Aurum

"Gold appears not to have been coined at Athens till the time of the Macedonian empire, with the exception…

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

Carian Coin

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

Coin of Chios

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

The front of a Greek silver coin weighing on the average around 193 grains, first issued by the kings of Pergamum, probably in the second century B.C.

Cistophorus

The front of a Greek silver coin weighing on the average around 193 grains, first issued by the kings…

The back of a Greek silver coin weighing on the average around 193 grains, first issued by the kings of Pergamum, probably in the second century B.C.

Cistophorus

The back of a Greek silver coin weighing on the average around 193 grains, first issued by the kings…

A coin of Cypress, representing the temple of Venus. It shows that she was worshiped in this island in the form of a meta, or conical stone (as in India).

Coin of Cypress

A coin of Cypress, representing the temple of Venus. It shows that she was worshiped in this island…

A coin of Cyrene showing an image of Jupiter.

Coin of Cyrene

A coin of Cyrene showing an image of Jupiter.

A coin of Paphos, now Baffo, in the island of Cypress. It shows that Venus was the deity worshiped there when she was referred to as the Paphian Goddess.

Coin of Paphos

A coin of Paphos, now Baffo, in the island of Cypress. It shows that Venus was the deity worshiped there…

This illustration shows currency from the ancient city of Rhodes.

Coin of Rhodes

This illustration shows currency from the ancient city of Rhodes.

An old coin, with a man's head on one face, and a man harvesting grain on the other.

Ancient coin

An old coin, with a man's head on one face, and a man harvesting grain on the other.

A Greek coin, with an elderly man on it.

Greek coin

A Greek coin, with an elderly man on it.

"Coin of Corcyra" &mdash; Morey, 1903

Corcyra Coin

"Coin of Corcyra" — Morey, 1903

The coin of the ancient Greek city of Corinth.

Coin of Corinth

The coin of the ancient Greek city of Corinth.

"From a medal of Lepidus, represents an olive crown." &mdash; Anthon, 1891

Olive crown

"From a medal of Lepidus, represents an olive crown." — Anthon, 1891

"The Nemian and Isthmian games occurred more frequently than the Olympic and Pythian. They were celebrated once in two years, the Nemian in the valley of Nemea between Phlius and Cleonae, and the Isthmian by the Corinthians, on their isthmus, in honour of Poseidon (Neptune)." &mdash; Smith, 1882

Isthmian crowns

"The Nemian and Isthmian games occurred more frequently than the Olympic and Pythian. They were celebrated…

The coin of Cyrene, the mythological daughter of Hypseus, King of the Lapiths.

Coin of Cyrene

The coin of Cyrene, the mythological daughter of Hypseus, King of the Lapiths.

The coin was first struck in commemoration of the gold crown sent by the Carthagininians to Demarete. Weighs about 43 grams.

Damareteion

The coin was first struck in commemoration of the gold crown sent by the Carthagininians to Demarete.…

The coin was first struck in commemoration of the gold crown sent by the Carthagininians to Demarete. Weighs about 43 grams.

Damareteion

The coin was first struck in commemoration of the gold crown sent by the Carthagininians to Demarete.…

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic and Aeginetan." &mdash; Smith, 1873. This image shows Attic Drachma.

Drachma

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek…

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek states were the Attic and Aeginetan." &mdash; Smith, 1873. This image shows Aeginetan Drachma.

Drachma

"The principal silver coin among the Greeks. The two chief standards in the currencies of the Greek…

"The surrounding of the punchmark with a band bearing a name, and the introduction of a head in its center, gradually led to the perfect reverse. There is a remarkable series of so-called 'encased' coins struck in Magna Graecia, of which the reverse is an exact repition in concave of the relief of the obverse." &mdash; Chambers, 1881

Encased Coin

"The surrounding of the punchmark with a band bearing a name, and the introduction of a head in its…

Episema were used in Greece as a symbol for a country, region, or used on a shield or badge. This episemon depicts a lion's head with a fish in its mouth.

Episemon

Episema were used in Greece as a symbol for a country, region, or used on a shield or badge. This episemon…

"Coin of Eretria" &mdash; Morey, 1903

Eretria Coin

"Coin of Eretria" — Morey, 1903

Four representations of men with ensis falcati.

Ensis falcatus

Four representations of men with ensis falcati.

"A sickle; a scythe; a pruning knife or pruning hook; a bill; a falchion; a halbert. As culter denoted a knife with one straight edge, falx signified any simpiliar instrument the single edge of which was curved. By additional epithets the various uses of the falx were indicted. Thus the sickle, because it was used by reapers, was called falx messoria; the scythe, which was employed in mowing hay, was called falx famaria. A rare coin published by Pellerin, shows the head of one of the Lagida, kings of Egypt, wearing the Diadema, and, on the reverse, a man cutting down corn with a sickle. The lower figure is taken from the MSS. of Columelia, and represents a falx vinitoria, or pruning knife of a vinedresser." &mdash; Smith, 1873.

Falx

"A sickle; a scythe; a pruning knife or pruning hook; a bill; a falchion; a halbert. As culter denoted…

"Rods bound in the form of a bundle, and containing an axe in the middle, the iron of which projected from them. These rods were carried by lictors before the superior magistrates at Rome, and are often represented on the reverse of consular coins. The following woodcuts give the reverses of four consular coins; in the first of which we see the lictors carrying the fasces on their shoulders; in the second, two fasces, and between them a sella curulis; in the third, two fasces crowned, with the consul standing between them; and in the fourth, the same, only with no crowns around the fasces." &mdash; Smith, 1873.

Fasces

"Rods bound in the form of a bundle, and containing an axe in the middle, the iron of which projected…

"Gazzetta of the Ionian islands, 1801. A small copper coin, worth about 3 farthings, made in Venice for the Ionian islands." -Whitney, 1911

Obverse and Reverse Sides of a Gazzetta

"Gazzetta of the Ionian islands, 1801. A small copper coin, worth about 3 farthings, made in Venice…

A coin used as currency by the ancient Greeks.

Grecian Coin

A coin used as currency by the ancient Greeks.

"In the reign of Philip of Macedon, the coinage of Greece had attained its full development, having a perfect reverse. One of the earliest specimens of the complete coin is a beautiful medal struck at Syracuse, with the head of Proserpine accompanied by dolphins, and for reverse a victor in the Olympic games in a chariot receiving a wreath from Victory-a type which is also found on the reverse of the staters of Philip of Macedon, known as Philips, and largely imitated by other states." &mdash; Chambers, 1881

Greek Coin

"In the reign of Philip of Macedon, the coinage of Greece had attained its full development, having…

This medal commemorates the Isthmian Games, celebrated on the Isthmus of Corinth in honor of Neptune. They were celebrated every five years and the reward for the victor was a garland of parsley; originally a branch of pine.

Isthmian Games

This medal commemorates the Isthmian Games, celebrated on the Isthmus of Corinth in honor of Neptune.…

A medal engraved with the image of Zeus, or Jupiter, next to a sphinx; the other side of the coin depicts the head of Serapis.

Jupiter

A medal engraved with the image of Zeus, or Jupiter, next to a sphinx; the other side of the coin depicts…

"Lampadedromia, torch-race, and often simply, Lampas, was a game common throughout Greece. At Athens we know of five celebrations of this game: one to Prometheus at the Prometheia, a second to Minerva at the Panametheia, a third to Vulcan at the Hephaesteia, a fourth to Pan, and a fifth to the Thracian Diana or Bendis. The three former are of unknown antiquity; the fourth was introduced soon after the battle of Marathon; the last in the time of Socrates. The race was usually run on foot, horses being first used in the time of Socrates: sometimes also at night. The preparation for it was a principal branch of the Gymnasiarchia, so much so indeed in later times, that Lampadarchia, seems to have been pretty much equivalent to the Gymnasiarchia. The gymnasiarch had to provide the lampas, which was a candlestick with a kind of shield set at the bottom of the socket, so as to shelter the flame of the candle; as is seen in the following woodcut, taken from a coin, He had also to provide for the training of the runners, which was of no slight consequence, for the race was evidently a severe one, with other expenses, which on the whole were very heave, so that Isaeus classes this office with the choregia and trierarchia, and reckons that it had cost him 12 minae." &mdash; Smith, 1873

Lampadephoria

"Lampadedromia, torch-race, and often simply, Lampas, was a game common throughout Greece. At Athens…

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

Lydian Coin

The obverse and reverse sides of one of the earliest coins.

"Lyre, with seven strings. From a coin of Chalcis." &mdash; Smith, 1882

Lyre coin

"Lyre, with seven strings. From a coin of Chalcis." — Smith, 1882

"Coin of Macedonia." &mdash; Smith, 1882

Coin of Macedonia

"Coin of Macedonia." — Smith, 1882

A medal that appears to have been made at the time when Claudius Optatus was Duumvir.

Medal

A medal that appears to have been made at the time when Claudius Optatus was Duumvir.

A medal showing five cities, represented by female figures, offering fruit to a goddess sitting on a rock.

Medal

A medal showing five cities, represented by female figures, offering fruit to a goddess sitting on a…

A medal of Attalia. One side pictures Neptune with his trident, suggesting that Attalia was a seaport. The other side depicts an unknown figure, possibly Pluto.

Medal of Attalia

A medal of Attalia. One side pictures Neptune with his trident, suggesting that Attalia was a seaport.…

A Medal of Caesarea Libanus. On one side the head of Alexander Severus is engraved. Depicted on the other is the tall figure of the goddess Astarte, the emperor placing a crown on her head.

Medal of Caesarea Libanus

A Medal of Caesarea Libanus. On one side the head of Alexander Severus is engraved. Depicted on the…

The medal of Corinth. On one side the Chimera with the inscription <i>Korinthion</i> is engraved. On the other side Bellerophon is depicted riding Pegasus into battle agaomst the Chimera.

Medal of Corinth

The medal of Corinth. On one side the Chimera with the inscription Korinthion is engraved. On the other…

A medal of Crete, representing a Minotaur and the labyrinth in which he was confined.

Medal of Crete

A medal of Crete, representing a Minotaur and the labyrinth in which he was confined.