The process of striking coins in ancient Greece registered is fast expansion starting with Lydia and on to other city states. Experts believe that the first Greek coins were minted in Aegina somewhere around 600 BC. The first coins were called silver drachmae and obols. They featured the image of a turtle on their obverse. It is worth mentioning that turtle was the symbol of Aegina.

The next city state that began striking Greek coins was Corinth. The city state minted drachmae coins that depicted Pegasus, a legendary figure in ancient Greece. Undoubtedly the biggest city state in ancient Greece was Athens. It started striking Greek coins somewhere around 610 BC. These coins proved to be very artistic, depicting the image of amphora or wine vessel.

The person who was able to establish the process of striking coins across the Hellenic empires was Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.), whose successors started including portraits on Greek coins as a regular feature. Thus historians were able to find out more about the ancient kings and rulers of ancient Greece.

Silver Drachm[²⁹] from Corinth

The obverse of this ancient Greek coins features a flying Pegasus and the coins' reverse depicts the head of Persephone. She is illustrated with her hair bound in corn wreath.

Corinth was the second city state in ancient Greece that began striking coins. The city stood on the isthmus, a piece of land that connects northern Greece and Peloponnesian peninsula. Coins struck in the city state didn't vary much during the 5^th century BC and throughout the 3^rd century BC. All of the coins struck during this period include on their obverse the image of Pegasus and the reverse featured the head of a goddess.

A Greek myth says that Pegasus has been subdued Acrocorinth or citadel of Corinth by Bellerophon, with the help of a golden bridal of Athena. Some coins feature the archaic letter F=K on their obverse, which is the initial letter of Corinth. The reverse of Greek coins issued in Corinth featured the images of Athena, Persephone and Aphrodite. It is interesting to note that Aphrodite was the main goddess in the city state.

Silver Hemidrachm from Elis

The obverse of this Greek coin depicts the head of Zeus and the coin's reverse shows a monogram within wreath.

The city of Elis was situated on the Peloponnesian peninsula, which is in southern Greece. Starting with the 6^th century BC the city started gaining popularity due to the fact that it presided over the Olympic Games. The institution that struck coins in the city was the Elean mint. It was situated at Olympia and was considered to be under the protection of Olympian Zeus. This is the reason why Greek coins minted in Elis featured the image of Zeus. The image on the reverse shows the wild olive wreath, which was awarded to those who were victorious during the Olympic Games. The legend found on the coins states Faleion, meaning "belonging to the Eleians".

Bronze Coin of King Pyrrhus

The obverse of this Greek coin shows the head of Persephone, being bound in corn wreath. Behind her there's the fore-part of the winged horse. The coins' reverse depicts Pallas Athena advancing with a spear in the right hand and a shield in the left.

Epirus is a Greek city state situated in the north-west of Greece. A lot of different tribes of Dorian and Illyrian heritage lived in the city. Different Molossian kings tried to unify Epirus, but only Pyrrhus managed to achieve this goal. His wife was the daughter of Ptolemy II. He allied to Agathocle of Syracuse and thus, having such a strong support, he could create a powerful state.

After being successful in the war with Macedonia, Pyrrhus managed to enlarge the territories. When the city of Tarentum was at war against Romans, he offered his help in 280 BC, the Romans suffered a number of defeats but none of the rivals was victorious. Thus appeared the term Pyrrhic victory, referring to the situation where there is no winner. The Greek coin illustrated here was struck at Syracuse during the period of confrontations with the Romans. The legend that states BASILEWS PURROU (Basileos Pyrrou) refers to the influence of Ptolemaic coinage on the coins struck during the reign of Pyrrhus. The words Basileos Pyrrou mean "belonging to King Pyrrhus".

Silver Stater from Boeotia (Thebes)

The obverse of this Greek coin shows the Boeotian shield and the reverse illustrates the long-stemmed amphora. There's AN/DR to left and right found in field.

Boeotia is a city situated in the central part of Greece, neighboring with Attica. The heartland of the city includes the plains of Thebes and Orchomenus, which brought a great help to the agriculture as well as horse-breeding during ancient times. The Amphictyonic Confederation consisted of united Boeotian cities, thus the coinage of the region was federal in nature.

The members of the Confederation struck their coins with a corn type. This was the main feature that distinguished Boeotian coins from other coins minted within the Greek territory. It is believed that the Boeotian shield symbolized the shield of Athena Itonia or Ares.

In the period between 379-338 BC, the influence of Thebes increased over other city states of Greece. This was due to the leadership of Epominandas. Coins struck in this time featured unchanged design. The legend AN/DR found on the coin's reverse refers to Androkleidas, who was the head of a political party in Thebes. He was also the magistrate that managed the mint's finances.