TCV Roundtable Blog

100 Greatest Ancient Coins Series: Melos Stater (Greece - Circa 430-416 BC)

While continuing to follow along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins series, we have learned how early ancient coinage came to be, including the how, why, when and where. Author Harlan J. Berk helps us along today as we discover a much different answer to all those questions in regard to this next coin. As always, it is imperative to remember that this top 100 list features coins from the earliest onward. This means that their rankings are out of order.

#91 – Melos Stater (Greece – Circa 430-416 BC)

Melos is an island that was settled by the Phoenicians and later Hellenized (made Greek) by the Dorians (one of four major ethnic groups of the ancient Greek people). During the Peloponnesian War, the once considered small, quiet island became a target for the Athenian empire. The Melians had complicated feelings about this as their ancestors who colonized the island were...read more