Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae (δραχμή, pl. δραχμές or δραχμαί (until 1982)) was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
It was also a small weight unit.
The name drachma is derived from the verb δράσσομαι (drássomai, "to grasp"). It is believed that the same word with the meaning of "handful" or "handle" is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six oboloí o...
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Drachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae (δραχμή, pl. δραχμές or δραχμαί (until 1982)) was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
It was also a small weight unit.
The name drachma is derived from the verb δράσσομαι (drássomai, "to grasp"). It is believed that the same word with the meaning of "handful" or "handle" is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six oboloí or obeloí (metal sticks, literally "spits") used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC and being literally a form of "bullion": bronze, copper, or iron ingots denominated by weight. A hoard of over 150 rod-shaped obeloi were uncovered at Heraion of Argos in Peloponnese. Six of them are displayed at the Numismatic Museum of Athens. It was the standard unit of silver coinage at most ancient Greek and Roman mints, and the name 'obol' was used to describe a coin that was one-sixth of a drachma. The notion that "drachma" derived from the word...
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