A dictionary of Greek and Roman . (Plate 66. fig. 1), a very an-cient coin of this pale gold, of an oval ball-like STATER. STATER. 1057 shape, impressed with the figure of a man kneel-ing, holding a fish in his left hand, and in hisright a knife hanging down, which Pinkertontakes for a coin of Croesus, but respecting whichnothing more can be said with safety than thatit is a very ancient specimen of Asiatic weight is 248-i- English grains, or allowingfor the loss of weight by wear, about that of theAttic tetradrachm, which was twice the weight ofthe stater. This, theref
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . (Plate 66. fig. 1), a very an-cient coin of this pale gold, of an oval ball-like STATER. STATER. 1057 shape, impressed with the figure of a man kneel-ing, holding a fish in his left hand, and in hisright a knife hanging down, which Pinkertontakes for a coin of Croesus, but respecting whichnothing more can be said with safety than thatit is a very ancient specimen of Asiatic weight is 248-i- English grains, or allowingfor the loss of weight by wear, about that of theAttic tetradrachm, which was twice the weight ofthe stater. This, therefore would be a doublestater. (Bbckh, ) At all events, in the ab-sence of certain specimens of the Lydian staterand of an express statement of its value, we maysuppose from the very silence of the Greek wri-ters, that it did not differ materially from thestater which was afterwards current in Greece ;and which was equal in iveiglrt to two drachmae,and in value to twenty. (Hesych. s. v. Xpvaovs;Pollux, iv. 173 ; Harpocration, AapeLKos.). Macedonian Stater. British Museum. The following were the principal Greek staters:1. The Attic stater, which has been spoken of un-der Aurum. The weights of the coins there men-tioned are 132*3, 132*7, 1326, and 13275 grains,the average of which is 132*5875 grains, whichonly falls short of the weight of the Attic didrachmby a little more than half a grain. [Drachma.]The gold of the Attic coins is remarkably pure. 2. The stater of Cyzicus was common in Greece,especially at Athens. We learn from Demosthenes(in Phorm. p. 914) that at a particular period (alittle after 335) this stater passed on the Bos-porus for 28 Attic drachmae, which, by a compari-son with the then value of the daricus [Daricus],would give for its weight about 180 grains. Se-veral Cyzicene staters exist, but none of themcome up to this weight. Hence we may concludethat the price of gold on the Bosporus was at thattime unusually high. Some of the existing coinsgive 1
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsmithwilliam18131893, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840
