2017-02-03 Fri

A circa 340 B.C. silver stater from Olympia celebrating the 110th Olympiad has an estimated value of $30,000 at the Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles Pre-Long Beach auction which will happen on 14th February. This extremely rare coin is struck in high relief with slight doubling on the obverse and blue overtones. The head of Zeus is featured on the obverse of the coin, and a standing eagle on the head of a ram is featured on the reverse.

The Olympic Games is held once in four years in honour of Zeus Olympios. The religious significance of the games is lost today but the medallic tradition continues in the form of commemorative coins and medals.

Experts state that Olympian Staters were struck by two Mints; one was linked to the temple of Zeus and the other to the temple of Hera. The Staters were probably used as both souvenirs as well as money so that people of Olympia could exchange them for foreign coins belonging to visitors from the Greek world.