THRACE, THESSALONIKA, c. 150 BC , bronze

DescriptionThessalonika is the second largest city of Greece. It was founded by Kassander of Makedon, who was a typical Makedonian ruler type who enjoyed fratricidal wars. When the Makedonians declined municipal authorities struck bronze coins until the arrival of the Romans.We think that our culture grew out of the culture of Greece because it was in Greece (and in China) that people started thinking about how things could be different than they were in a world where everything was dangerous and might made right. They also established principles of artistic expression that we still use today. We see this approach to art in their coins.Ancient Coins includes Greek and Roman coins and those of neighbors and successors, geographically from Morocco and Spain all the way to Afghanistan. Date ranges for these begin with the world’s earliest coins of the 8th century BC to, in an extreme case, the end of Byzantine Empire, 1453 AD.