Cleveland Museum of Art

Stater: Head of Athena (obverse); Nike (reverse)

Date

c. 325–275 BCE

Medium

gold

Culture

Greek, Macedonian, minted at Salamis (Cyprus)

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

As the forces of Alexander III [the Great] advanced into Asia, the city-state of Salamis, on the island of Cyprus, voluntarily surrendered itself and its mint. Salamis began producing Macedonian-style coinage, adopting a helmeted Athena on the obverse and a winged Nike offering a laurel wreath on the reverse. The rudder in the left field is the distinguishing symbol of Salamis, a nod to the city’s longstanding maritime prominence. Athena appears off-center on this coin’s obverse due to an error in the minting process.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.