Aristotle was no teabagger. He didn't think that prices in the marketplace should be the same for everyone. He thought it was only natural for a rich person to pay more for an item than a poor one. Neither was Plato. He said that no honest man could ever be rich. From ancient times until now money has played a dominant role in society. Let's follow money though history.
Parthenon
Stone Age to Roman Republic
Imperial Rome
Money is : 1) a medium of exchange 2) a measure of account 3) a store of value
Let's take a quick look at how coins were struck before the invention of the press. The striking of a coin was a straightforward process. A die, usually the obverse, was set in a hole recessed in an anvil. The other die was attached to a punch. A blank piece of metal was laid on the anvil, the punch placed on top, and given a hard whack with a heavy hammer, most times more than once. Sometimes the blank was heated.
Of course the hard part was engraving the dies. They had to be hand etched into a solid piece of bronze or iron. The Greeks were the master engravers of the ancient world. The Roman, Byzantine, and Persian empires used Greek engravers. After the fall of Rome, Christian Europe would not see coins of this quality for 1000 years.
relief of coin being struck with hammer and anvil
Drachm (sometime spelled drachma) means fistful in Greek. An obol was a metal rod of copper, bronze, or iron used for money by the ancient Greeks before coins. The drachm and the obol became silver coins. Six obels = one drachm. One tetradrachm = four drachm. Athens was the first to use drachmae and many other Greek cities called their coins drachmae. The slater was a gold coin but was struck in silver in some cities. For the most part what the Greeks themselves called their coins is lost to history.
Gold
Macedonia, Philip II, Half stater, Pella, circa 348-328 BCE. Head of young Heracles wearing lion’s skin. FILIPPOU Lion’s forepart, below, trident head
Coin of Alexander the Great, with a depiction of Athena and Nike.
Head of helmeted Athena right. Obverse of a gold stater minted in Babylon during the reign of Philip III or Philip IV of Macedon.
Nike standing left, wreath in right. Reverse of a gold stater minted in Abydos during the reign of Philip III or Philip IV of Macedon.
Gold stater of the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter minted at Ai-Khanoum, c. 275 BCE. Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus right. Reverse: Nude Apollo seated on omphalos left, leaning on bow and holding two arrows. Greek legend: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY (of King Antiochos). Δ monogram of Ai-Khanoum in left field.
Bactria. Diodotus I, in the name of Antiochos II of Syria. Circa 255-235 BCE. Stater, Attic standard. Mint A (near Aï Khanoum). Diademed head of Diodotos I right ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, Zeus advancing left, holding thunderbolt in right hand, aegis draped over extended left arm, eagle at his feet standing left; N in left field.
Octadrachm issued by Ptolemy III (r. 246 BC–222 BCE).
Zeus with a laurel crown. Gold stater from Lampsacus, Mysia (ca. 360–340 BCE), obverse
Pegasus protome flying right, gold stater from en:Lampsacus, en:Mysia (ca. 360–340 BCE). Reverse
Silver
Obol of Athens, Athena and her owl
Tetradrachm of Athens, fifth century BCE. On the obverse, a portrait of Athena, patron goddess of the city. On the reverse, the owl of Athens.
The owl of Athens, sacred bird of Athena
Greek coin from ARGOLIS, Argos,90 BC Greek coin depicting Wolf / Helis with ΞΕΝΟΦΥΛΟΥ inscription
Drachma of Aegina, 6th century BC
Obverse: Land tortoise
Reverse: ΑΙΓ[INAΤΟΝ] ("[of the] Aeg[inetans]") and dolphin within a geometrical drawing
BOEOTIA, Thebes, 440 BCE, Boeotian shield / Facing bearded head of Hercules
THESSALY, Larissa, 440 BCE, Youth wrestling bull left / Bridled horse galloping
CRETE, Phaistos, 300 BCE,
Talos / bull
SICILY, Syracuse 415-405 BC. Obverse : Head of Arethusa left, wearing looped earring and necklace, surrounded by four dolphins swimming; ΕΥΚΛ / ΕΙΔΑ inscribed on tablet below chin., Obverse die signed by Eumenos
Reverse:Charioteer driving galloping quadriga left, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left; Nike flying above crowning charioteer, ΕΥΜΗΝΟΥ in exergue, reverse die signed by Eukleidas
Satyr and Nymph. Silver stater from Thasos (Thrace). Circa 500-463 BCE, Obverse: an ithyphallic satyr carries off a protesting nymph, who wears a long chiton and raises the right arm. Reverse: quadripartite incuse square
Silver coin of Damastion, 4th century BCE. Obv: Apollo head, laureate. Rev. Tripod, inscription ΔΑΜΑΣΤΙΝΩΝ - ΚΗΦΙ
Corinth. Circa 345-307 BCE, Stater, Pegasos flying left / Laureate and helmeted head of Athena left; A-P at neck, eagle standing left, head reverted, behind
IONIA, Klazomenai 499 BCE. Winged boar / Rough quadripartite incuse square.
City of Abdera,Thrace, Greek coin depicting a Griffin and a square pattern.
inscription in Ancient Greek "ΗΡΑΚ",Hercules
Illyria, Dyrrhachium (today Durrës). Circa 1st-2nd Century BC. AR Drachm (3.40 g). ΚΤΗΤΟΣ, cow standing right, suckling calf; head of Isis above, grain ear and grapes to right / ΔΥΡ ΦΑ ΝΙ[Σ ΚΟ]Υ DUR FA NI[S KO]U, double stellate pattern
Apulia, Canusium. 300-250 BC. Obol ,Amphora; cornucopia to left, oinochoe to right Kithara.
Silver drachm of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia, struck in Eusebeia 131-130 BC; ΛΓ in exergue is a Greek number and means 33rd year of reign
Galatian coin depicting Amyntas, King of Galatia 36-25 BC
Head of Herakles right with a lion-skin headdress. Obverse of a silver decadrachm minted in Babylon during the reign of Alexander the Great.
Bronze
Aeolis, Aegae 2nd-1st century BCE. Head of Hermes right wearing petasos / AIGAIEWN below forepart of goat right, HVP monogram above, PAF monograms to right.
Thrace, Dionysopolis . After 3rd century BCE. Wreathed head of Dionysos right / DION, thyrsos
Thrace, Kallatis 1st-2nd century CE. Helmeted bust of Athena right / KALLATIANWN, round shield decorated with a dolphin, flanked by club & quiver
Satyr’s bearded head right, in profile, club (pedum) to left. Rev. : IΣTPIH. An eagle, pecking a dolphin
Thrace, Black Sea Area. Odrysae. Circa 3rd Century BCE. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion's skin headdress / Bull standing left
CAMPANIA, Capua. ca 216-211 BCE Uncia. Bust of Artemis right, bow & quiver over left shoulder / Wild boar right; pellet above
CALABRIA, Tarentum. 281-209 BCE. Scallop shell / TAPAN right, Taras astride dolphin left, holding kantharos in right hand, cornucopiae in left.
BRUTTIUM, Mesma. ca 340-330 BCE. Facing bust of Persephone, head slightly right, grain ears in hair; oinochoe left / MESMAIWN, laureate head of Apollo right.
Sicily, Kamarina, AE Trias. 413-404 BC. Gorgon's head facing / KAMA, owl standing left, head facing, holding lizard in right claw, three dots below.
Attica, Eleusis. ca 322/17-307 BCE. Triptolemos, holding grain ear in right hand, mounting a winged chariot being drawn by two snakes / ELEU in ex, pig standing right on mystic staff; all within a wreath of grain.
When the Greek city states were part of the Roman Empire the Romans allowed them to continue striking their own bronze coins. The obverse contained the head of the emperor but they were allowed some leeway on the reverse. These coins are called Roman Provincial or sometimes Greek Imperial.
Nero Thessalonica, Macedonia. Young, bare head left. Mars, the god of war, standing left
Next we'll look at ancient China.