Thestater (/ˈsteɪtər,stɑːˈtɛər/;[1]Ancient Greek:στατήρ,pronounced[statɛ̌ːr],romanized: statḗr,lit. 'weight') was an ancient coin used in various regions ofGreece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe.
The stater, as a Greek silver currency, first as ingots, and later as coins, circulated from the 8th century BC to AD 50. The earliest known stamped stater (having the mark of some authority in the form of a picture or words) is anelectrum turtle coin, struck atAegina[2] that dates to about 650 BC.[3] It is on display at theBibliothèque Nationale inParis. According toRobin Lane Fox, the stater as a weight unit was borrowed by theEuboean stater weighing 16.8 grams (0.54 ozt) from thePhoenicianshekel, which had about the same weight as a stater (7.0 g, 0.23 ozt) and was also one fiftieth of amina.[4]
The silver stater minted atCorinth[5] of 8.6 g (0.28 ozt) weight was divided into three silverdrachmae of 2.9 g (0.093 ozt), but was often linked to theAthenian silverdidrachm (two drachmae) weighing 8.6 g (0.28 ozt).[6] In comparison, the Athenian silvertetradrachm (four drachmae) weighed 17.2 g (0.55 ozt). Staters were also struck in several Greek city-states such as,Aegina,Aspendos,Delphi,Knossos,Kydonia, many city-states ofIonia,Lampsacus,Megalopolis,Metapontium,Olympia,Phaistos,Poseidonia,Syracuse,Taras,Thasos,Thebes and more.
There also existed a "gold stater", but it was only minted in some places, and was mainly an accounting unit worth 20–28 drachmae depending on place and time, the Athenian unit being worth 20 drachmae. (The reason being that one gold stater generally weighed roughly 8.5 g (0.27 ozt), twice as much as a drachma, while the parity of gold to silver, after some variance, was established as 1:10). The use of gold staters in coinage seems mostly ofMacedonian origin. The best known types of Greek gold staters are the 28-drachmakyzikenoi fromCyzicus.
Celtic tribes brought the concept to Western and Central Europe after obtaining it while serving as mercenaries in north Greece.[7] Gold staters were minted inGaul by Gallic chiefs modeled after thephilippeioi ofPhilip II of Macedonia, which were brought back after serving in his armies, or those of his sonAlexander the Great and his successors.[7] Some of these staters in the form of theGallo-Belgic series were imported to Britain on a large scale.[8] These went on to influence a range of staters produced in Britain.[9] British Gold staters generally weighed between 4.5 and 6.5 grams (0.14–0.21 ozt).[10]
Celtic staters were also minted in present-dayCzech Republic andPoland.[11] The conquests of Alexander extended Greek culture east, leading to the adoption of staters in Asia. Gold staters have also been found from the ancient region ofGandhara from the time ofKanishka.[12]
In 2018, archaeologists inPodzemelj,Slovenia unearthed fifteen graves at the Pezdirčeva Njiva site. In one of the graves they found a bronze belt with a gold coin.The coin was aCeltic imitation of theAlexander the Great stater, depictingNike andAthena, and dates back to the first half of the3rd century B.C.[13]
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The dictionary definition ofstater at WiktionaryAuthority control databases: National |
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