The three most important standards of the Ancient Greek monetary system were:
1. Attic standard, based on the Athenian drachma of 4.3 grams of silver,
2. Corinthian standard based on an 8.6 g silver stater, i.e., divided into three 2.9 g silver drachmas and
3. Egin standard based on the 12.2 g stater or didrachm (i.e. 2 drachms of 6.1 g each)
The word drachma means in a figurative sense „handful“ (literally „grasp“). Drachmas were divided into six obols (from the Greek word for „spit“ (rod)), and six „spits“ made a “handful.” This suggests that before minted money began to be used in Greece, these „spits“ (rods) were used in prehistoric times as measures in everyday transactions.
| Denominations derived from the silver drachma | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Image: | Nominal: | Value: | Table: |
 | decadrachm | 10 drachmas | 43 g |
 | tetradrachm | 4 drams | 17.20 g |
 | didrachm | 2 drams | 8.60 g |
 | drahma | 6 obols | 4.30 g |
 | tetrobol | 4 obols | 2.85 g |
 | triobol (hemidrachm) | 3 obols | 2.15 g |
 | obol | 2 obols | 1.43 g |
 | obol | 4 tetartemorions | 0.72 g |
 | tritetartemorion | 3 tetartemoriona | 0.54 g |
 | hemiobol | 2 tetartemorion | 0.36 g |
 | trihemitetartemorion | 1 1⁄2 tetartemorion | 0.27 g |
 | tetartemorion | 1⁄4 ebola | 0.18 g |
 | hemitetartemorion | 1⁄2 tetartemorion | 0.09 g |
In archaic, pre-numismatic times, iron was valued for making durable tools and weapons, and its casting in the form of a „spit“ (bar) may have actually represented a form of portable bullion, which over time became bulky and inconvenient after the adoption of precious metals as a standard of value.
Precisely for this reason, Spartan legislation explicitly prohibited the issuance of Spartan currency and mandated the use of iron ingots (bars), called pelanoi, in order to discourage greed and the accumulation of wealth.
Besides its original meaning, the word obol (ὀβολός, obolos, or ὀβελός, obelos) is retained today as a Greek word for low-value coins.
The obol was further divided into the tetartemorion (sing. tetartemorion), which represented 1⁄4 of an obol, or 1⁄24 of a drachma. This denomination is mentioned by Aristotle as the smallest silver coin in circulation.
Various smaller parts of this denomination were also minted, including, for example, the trihemitetartemorion (literally three half-tetartemorioia) with a value of 3⁄8 of an obol.
Edited: Zlatko Viščević
Source: Wikipedia
Photos: Classical Numismatic Group [https://www.cngcoins.com]
