Silver Stater of Ancient Metapontum — The Famous Barley Ear of Magna Graecia

Own One of the Most Iconic Coins of Ancient Greece

A real Greek silver stater struck at the wealthy city of Metapontum, famous throughout the ancient world for its fertile farmland and its celebrated barley-ear coinage.

Grade: Very Fine (VF)

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🏛 Struck in southern Italy over 2,300 years ago
🌾 Features the famous barley ear that symbolized the city's prosperity
⚖ One of the classic silver coin types of Magna Graecia

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

This authentic silver stater was struck at Metapontum, one of the wealthiest Greek colonies of Magna Graecia in southern Italy. Founded by Greek settlers during the great era of colonization, the city prospered thanks to the rich agricultural plains surrounding it, becoming one of the leading cities of the western Greek world.

No symbol is more closely associated with Metapontum than the barley ear, which appeared on its coinage for centuries. More than a decorative design, it celebrated the fertile land that sustained the city's prosperity and identity. Few ancient cities embraced a single civic emblem as consistently or successfully, making the barley ear one of the most recognizable symbols in all of Greek numismatics.

Unlike many Greek coinages that celebrated military victories, heroic rulers, or powerful gods, Metapontum proudly highlighted the source of its wealth: the land itself. The elegant barley-ear design expressed abundance, stability, and the importance of agriculture to both the city's economy and its civic identity.

This coin was struck during the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods, when the legacy of Alexander the Great was reshaping the eastern Mediterranean even as Rome steadily expanded its influence across the Italian peninsula. It circulated during a transformative era when Greek and Roman worlds increasingly came into contact.

Today, the silver staters of Metapontum remain among the most admired coins of Magna Graecia, celebrated for their elegant simplicity, historical significance, and timeless artistry.

Perfect For

• Ancient Greek coin collectors
• Collectors of Magna Graecia coinage
• Agricultural and economic history enthusiasts
• Fans of Classical Greek art
• Anyone seeking a historic Greek silver coin

Coin Details

• The exact silver stater pictured
• Civilization: Ancient Greece (Magna Graecia)
• City: Metapontum, Lucania
• Century: Late 4th–Early 3rd Century BC
• Date: c. 330–280 BC
• Denomination: Silver Stater
• Obverse/Reverse: Famous barley-ear design
• Grade: Very Fine (VF)
• Guaranteed authentic

Continue the Story

The cities of Magna Graecia produced some of the most distinctive silver coinage of the ancient world, each celebrating its own identity through remarkable artistic designs.

Explore our other Greek silver coins to discover the myths, symbols, and city-states that flourished across southern Italy and the wider Mediterranean.

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