400 BC Ancient Greek Apollonia Silver Drachm Coin NGC Choice XF

An Ancient Greek Drachm of Apollonia!

• Minted -- Apollonia, circa 400 BC
• Grade -- NGC Choice Extremely Fine (CH XF)  
• Obverse -- Facing gorgoneion with snakes around
• Reverse -- Upright anchor, A in field
• Diameter -- Approximately 14 mm

From the desk of GovMint.com’s resident ancient coin expert, David Levine:

• This is among the first silver coins of the world to have a design on both sides.
• The ancient gorgons represented three sisters -- Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Medusa shows up in many forms of ancient Greek art. According to Greek Mythology, anyone who looked at Medusa turned to stone. So, people would keep an image of Medusa in case they needed to put it between them and an enemy.
• The 5th and 4th century BC coinage of Apollonia Pontica reflects that city's origins: commercial wealth and maritime power. The gorgon was a popular apotropaic device, seen as warding off evil; thus a number of ancient Greek cities adopted it as a coin design. The anchor and the crayfish attest to the city's reliance on maritime commerce for its economy, and the anchor depicted on these coins is actually one of the first anchors of modern design rendered in Greek art.