Greek Stater, Agrigento

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Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Stater, Agrigento
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Bentham.
Artist/Maker
Date413 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.
MediumBronze
DimensionsDiameter: 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm)
Credit LineTransfer from Hamilton College Archives, Burke Library. Gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine, Class of 1874
Object numberS2018.1.16
On view
DescriptionAgrigento was one of the ancient Greek cities that formed Magna Graecia in southern Italy, and it was one of the wealthiest in the 5th century B.C.E. On its obverse, this coin from Agrigento depicts an eagle with its wings open and its head back. Eagles were used in coinage to represent Zeus and his omnipotence; in its claws, the eagle holds a fish, representative of Zeus’ power. On the reverse of this coin is a crab, symbolizing Agrigento’s naval strength. This coin is a part of the Paine Coin Collection. This teaching collection of 32 Greek and Roman coins was formed by John Alsop Paine (1840 – 1912), Class of 1859, who was an archaeologist with the Palestine Exploration Society and a Curator in the Department of Casts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1889 until 1906. The collection came to the college through John Alsop Paine’s grandson, Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853 – 1948), Class of 1874.
Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance 2018: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by transfer from College Archives, Burke Library;
?: Hamilton College, by gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948);
?: Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948), presumably by inheritance or gift from his grandfather, John Alsop Paine (1840-1912);
?: John Alsop Paine (1840-1912), by excavation.
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