Silver stater coin from Corinth at The British Museum, London

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The concept of minting coins in silver was initially adopted by the city-states of Aegina, Corinth, and Athens. This idea then spread rapidly across the Mediterranean. By the end of the 500s BC, most mints had started making coins with designs on both sides. The stater (Greek, literally "weight") is an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe. The stater, as a Greek silver currency, first circulated as ingots and later as coins from the 8th century BC to 50 AD. The earliest known stamped stater (having the mark of some authority in the form of a picture or words) is an electrum turtle coin, struck at Aegina that dates about 700 BC. It is on display at the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris. According to Robin Lane Fox, the stater as a weight unit was borrowed by the Euboean stater weighing 16.8 grams from the Phoenician shekel, which had about the same weight as a stater (7.0 grams) and was also a fiftieth part of a mina. The silver stater minted at Corinth of 8.6 grams weight was divided into three silver drachmas of 2.9 grams, but was often linked to the Athenian silver didrachm coin weighing 8.6 grams. In comparison, the Athenian silver tetradrachm was weighing 17.2 grams. Staters were also struck in several Greek city-states such as Aegina, Aspendos, Delphi, Knossos, Kydonia, many city-states of Ionia, Lampsacus, Megalopolis, Metapontium, Olympia, Phaistos, Poseidonia, Syracuse, Thasos, Thebes, and more. (Credit: Wikipedia) This object is part of "Scan the World." Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open-source community effort; if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help. Scanned: Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)