Corinth, silver stater, c. 500-430 BC.

Corinth, silver stater, c. 500-430 BC. 8.44 g, c. 21 mm. Obverse shows Pegasos, bridled and with curled wing, flying right. Reverse presents the head of Pallas Athena right, hair tied in a queue, wearing a beaded necklace and a high-crested Corinthian helmet; the whole design set within an incuse square. Reference: BMC Corinth 64. Toned silver with scattered surface texture yet clear major details; very fine for this early archaic series.  Ex. Ars Classica XII, 1489 (10/18/1922), Plate coin in Ravel, 229 (1936), Ex Superior, 470 (6/15/1976)

Corinth’s staters of the late Archaic period rank among the earliest Greek coins to achieve broad Mediterranean circulation. The Pegasos type advertised the city’s mythical connection to Bellerophon while Athena’s helmeted portrait underscored Corinth’s military and commercial strength. These staters were struck on the Aeginetan weight standard and travelled widely with Corinthian merchants and mercenary payrolls, helping to establish the city’s economic reach in the decades just before the Persian Wars.