Attic weight

Attic weight, or the Attic standard, was a monetary standard used during the Hellenistic period. It was also known as Euboic standard. After Alexander the Great, it was the dominant weight standard in the Eastern Mediterranean, until the introduction of the Roman denarius to the region in the late first century BC.

The Attic standard declined in weight with the passing of time.[1]

History

The Attic weight was based on a drachma of 4.31 grams, but in practice the main denomination was the tetradrachm or 4-drachma coin, which weighed approximately 17.26 grams[2] in silver. The standard was also known as an Euboic standard.[3]

Athenian coinage (and its weight standard) became one of the most important standards in the Aegean region in the Classical period, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Athenian silver mines at Laurion were the main source of silver in the Aegean. Secondly, the Athenian demand for grain was met by sending large quantities of Athenian coinage to major grain producing regions in Sicily, Egypt, and the Levant. Finally, the Athenian empire may have enforced the use of the Attic weight standard through the Athenian coinage decree.

Philip II of Macedon adopted Attic standard for his kingdom.[1] Alexander the Great also minted on the Attic standard during his reign. The Macedonian Empire's adoption of the Attic weight reinforced its status as the standard weight for trade throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In the Hellenistic period, most kingdoms minted on the standard and the majority of the local weight standards that had existed in earlier times went out of use. There were many exceptions, however. Ptolemaic Egypt, used a lighter weight standard.[1][2][3] The island of Rhodes maintained its own Rhodian standard, supported by their role as a commercial hub for the trade in wine and Egyptian grain.[4]

During the 300 years of the Hellenistic period the Attic weight slowly declined, as mints reduced the weight of newly minted coins to match the weight of the worn coins that were already in circulation. At the time of Alexander the Great, the Attic tetradrachm weighed 17.28 grams of silver. In 300 BC it had slightly reduced in weight, to 17.20 grams. The Seleucid mint at Antioch shows a continuing process of declining weight. The decline can also be seen at other mints.[1]


See also

References
  1. Otto Mørkholm (31 May 1991). Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace of Apamaea (336-188 BC). Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-521-39504-5.
  2. Roger S. Bagnall (1976). The Administration of the Ptolomaic Possessions Outside Egypt: With 3 Maps. Brill Archive. ISBN 90-04-04490-6.
  3. Ian Michael Plant (2004). Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-8061-3621-9.
  4. Richard M. Berthold (2009). Rhodes in the Hellenistic Age. Cornell University Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN 0-8014-7597-X.
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