Aegina Sea Turtle Stater

Aegina: Pioneer of Greek Silver

The tiny island of Aegina, in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, produced the first silver coins in mainland Greece around 550 BC. The sea turtle on these coins symbolized Aegina's maritime power — the island's merchant fleet was one of the largest in the Greek world.

This Coin

The obverse shows a sea turtle viewed from above — one of the most distinctive and charming designs in ancient coinage. The reverse bears the characteristic "skew" incuse pattern of early Greek coins. The Aeginetan weight standard (one stater = approximately 12.2g) was adopted across much of the Peloponnese and became one of the two dominant weight systems of the Greek world.