Yes, I was very surprised when I discovered that ancient coins were not out of my price range back in the day. I expected all ancient coins were museum pieces; the reality is that there are millions of them, and not all of them can be displayed in museums.
The octobol is a pretty interesting piece; supposedly Egypt had no silver mines to speak of, so in order to have coins with an equivalent value to the standard trade coin - the drachm - they had to strike large bronze coins instead.
Both denominations were pretty impractical; the hemitetartemorion was probably lost a lot, and the octobol would be too heavy for daily use…
It is very difficult to determine value across 2200 years, as the economy was su very different. Food was expensive compared to now, and clothes were super expensive.
A drachma - 6 obols - was a day’s wages for a skilled worker, but what that meant in purchasing power relative to now is hard to determine. This is an octobol, so eight obols, or a little over a day’s wage.
How cool is it to have such pieces of history, any other fun facts about them or other pieces you like?
Yes, I was very surprised when I discovered that ancient coins were not out of my price range back in the day. I expected all ancient coins were museum pieces; the reality is that there are millions of them, and not all of them can be displayed in museums.
The octobol is a pretty interesting piece; supposedly Egypt had no silver mines to speak of, so in order to have coins with an equivalent value to the standard trade coin - the drachm - they had to strike large bronze coins instead.
Both denominations were pretty impractical; the hemitetartemorion was probably lost a lot, and the octobol would be too heavy for daily use…
Do you know the buying power of these? Would the big one cover a meal? A horse? A house?
It is very difficult to determine value across 2200 years, as the economy was su very different. Food was expensive compared to now, and clothes were super expensive.
A drachma - 6 obols - was a day’s wages for a skilled worker, but what that meant in purchasing power relative to now is hard to determine. This is an octobol, so eight obols, or a little over a day’s wage.