Ancient Greece - 457-350 BCE Island of Aegina Turtle AR Stater NGC Choice VF

Island of Aegina, Turtle AR Stater. Dated 457-350 BCE, this piece was graded NGC Choice VF, and has quite a dramatic look to it. The obverse has a sea turtle with a realistic design of its shell. The reverse is a geometric design of a square with a five-part incuse strike. The obverse has dramatic blue patina, while the reverse has golden brown toning with splashes of green. This is a rare piece of Ancient Greek history with a very distinctive look.

Aphaea was a Greek goddess who was worshipped mostly at a sole sanctuary upon the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf. Above are the ruins of her temple.

The Stater was an ancient Greek coin (Stater literally meant 'weight') that was struck in several Greek city-states in addition to Aegina. Such coins with the turtle design were considered an important trading medium. Aegina was one of the earliest and busiest of the Greek mints.

By 550 BCE the production of distinctive silver turtle Staters had begun on the island. Aegina was an island off the coast of Attica. The coins of Aegina presented the image of sea turtles on them when Aegina was the major sea power among the Greek city-states. The sea turtle was representative of Aegina's naval strength and resiliency. After being defeated by Athens in 458 BCE, Aegina replaced the sea turtle with a land tortoise, symbolizing its loss of prestige and sea power.