Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Nike (reverse)

c. 320–317 BC

Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Nike (reverse), c. 320–317 BC. Greek, Macedonian, minted at Salamis (Cyprus). Gold; diameter: 1.9 cm (3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1916.979 As the forces of Alexander III [the Great] advanced into Asia, the city-state of Salamis, on the island of Cyprus, voluntarily surrendered itself and its mint. Salamis began producing Macedonian-style coinage, adopting a helmeted Athena on the obverse and a winged Nike offering a laurel wreath on the reverse. The rudder in the left field is the distinguishing symbol of Salamis, a nod to the city’s longstanding maritime prominence. Athena appears off-center on this coin’s obverse due to an error in the minting process.