Continuing in our blog series covering Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Women on Coins, author Ron Guth throws us a first. These next two women, or figures, are already listed individually on the top 100 of this list. However, we are about to be introduced to them together as they appeared on numerous coins and on many occasions as such.
#80 – Athena and Nike
Athena and Nike are two of the most prominent Greek goddesses, appearing on this same list at #27 and #23 individually. They are featured on several ancient Greek coins separately, but they are also featured on many together. Athena is always the dominant figure of the two as Nike is always smaller and quite literally fits in the palm of Athena’s hand.
Depicted on opposite sides of the same coin, Athena and Nike appear on ancient Macedonian and Greek coins of the third and fourth centuries BC. Athena wears a helmet while the full figure of Nike appears on the reverse with large wings and a wreath in her outstretched right hand while a staff is in the other. On coins from the third century, they move together to the reverse of the coin as Nike is presented as a small figure in Athena’s hand. Their depiction on coins continues through the Roman Republic and into the Roman Empire (known as Minerva and Victory).
Collecting difficulty of these coins is easy to moderate, according to Guth. Bronze and silver coins are more common and inexpensive relatively speaking. Gold coins are quite the opposite as they are extremely valuable despite not being that rare.