Ancient Greek Silver Drachms

The drachm was a silver ancient Greek coinage used throughout the Greek Empire and was the standard unit of silver coinage. Different mints had different weight standards for the drachma, however the most commonly accepted was the Athenian drachma, weighing a little over 4.3g. The Ancient Greek tetradrachm was thus worth 4 times this weight, at 17.2g. Indeed, this disparity may derive in part from the vagueness inherent in the term itself, ‘drachma’ meaning merely ‘a handful’. Ancient Greek city-states that used the drachm included Athens, Corinth, Sparta and Thasos. The iconography used on silver drachma varied between city-states, with each presenting its own championed gods, heroes, and emblems.