Ancient Greek
Aegina Turtle Coin Jewelry

The Greek island of Aegina, located about 15 miles southeast of Athens, was a powerful city-state and maritime power in the sixth century B.C.  Located on the island was one of the earliest mints in Greece proper, which produced a series of silver staters known as Greek Turtles, one of the most sought after of all ancient coins.

The earliest coins (550 - 480 B.C.) depicted the image of a smooth shelled Sea Turtle, common to the Aegean Sea and symbolic of the island's commerce.  These coins were produced in large numbers and remained the principle world trade coin until replaced by the Athenian Owl in the 5th century B.C.  The design evolved overtime to include a series of dots running down the center of the shell, and finally into the T-back Turtle (480 - 457 B.C.) when two extra pellets were added to the shell near the turtle's head.

The segmented shell Land Turtle (457 - 431 B.C.) became standard issue when Aegina was conquered in war and stripped of its maritime power in 457 B.C.  These new, much scarcer, richly detailed staters are highly prized and in great demand by modern day collectors of ancient Greek coins.

Certificates of Authenticity accompany all Ancient Greek Aegina Turtle coin jewelry.  View a typical New World Treasures photo type Certificate of Authenticity.

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