ABSTRACT

According to the last studies of our best archaeological source, the invention of coinage dates back to the end of the seventh century BC: the foundations of the temple of Artemis in Ephesos. From the very beginning of the fifth century BC, more than one hundred mints are known to have operated in the Mediterranean region. 2 The wide circulation of the Athenian owl coinage since the mid-fifth century BC till the end of the fourth century BC is followed by the wider success of the silver coins and gold staters of Alexander the Great struck by the conqueror and his successors almost everywhere in the Empire. 3 During that time, hundreds of mints were opened in the Greek world, for both huge and tiny outputs.