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HISTORICAL GREEK COINS - eBooks4Greeks.gr

HISTORICAL GREEK COINS - eBooks4Greeks.gr

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passage of Aristotle. See Num. Chr., 1897, p. 292. J<strong>HISTORICAL</strong> <strong>GREEK</strong> <strong>COINS</strong>hardly have been omitted in the record of hisachievements. A writer dealing with history fromthe economic and constitutional point of viewalone, like Aristotle in his 'A&ypaww noXtreia, couldhardly have passed it over in silence ;it is stillless likely to have escaped the Atthido<strong>gr</strong>aphers.Again, when Solon's policy in relation to the coinageis mentioned it is implied that he altered in somewhat existed before him. Finally, as there iswayusually some basis for the most foolish tradition,we may justifiably assume that the various legendsattributing the invention of the coinage to Erichthoniusand Lycus, or to Theseus, mean that theinvention went back to some very early time, atleast pre-Solonian.First let us consider the most important piece ofthe literary evidence. 1 From the famous tenthchapter of Aristotle's 'Afrqvaiaw HoXtreia we knowthat the pre-Solonian mina in use at Athensweighed 70 drachms, and that Solon raised theweight of the mina so as to be equivalent to100 drachms. Now the pre-Solonian mina inuse at Athens must have been the Pheidonian-Aeginetic ;that is generally admitted, and is indeedimplied in Aristotle's context. What happenedwas that the weight of the mina was increaseduntil its drachm (or ^^ part) was equivalent toT^J of the Pheidonian mina previously in use. NowTJ^ of the Pheidonian mina (^x 611*24 <strong>gr</strong>ammes)is 873 <strong>gr</strong>ammes. Therefore 873 <strong>gr</strong>ammes was1Androtion's evidence has had to be corrected in the light of the

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