详解古希腊银币的打制工艺

和中国采用铸造工艺不同，雅典的猫头鹰银币是一种采用银坯用压模进行打制的银币，其图案呈现出高浮雕的特色。古希腊人在打制银币时首先将银币熔化变软，以方便切割为相同的重量的圆形坯体，再用两个分别雕刻有银币上下纹饰的冲砧将圆形坯体夹在中间，用圆盘固定坯体并用锤敲击，从而将冲砧印到银币上，圆盘除了固定坯体也可以避免敲击时坯体开裂。冲砧模具通常是由青铜、铁或黄铜制成，由于容易磨损需要经常更换，做新的磨具是很费工的事。雅典工匠素以雕刻见长，卫城上神庙的精美雕刻就是例证，作为雅典经济生活重要载体的银币，可以设想当时设计和猫头鹰银币的压模雕刻师一定是一位非常知名的雕刻大师，才使这枚银币呈现出流传千古的艺术魅力，并成为了可以与帕特农神庙相媲美的古希腊文化符号。

古希腊银币打制工艺示意图

雅典斯塔尔金币印模（前407年）

参考英文原文（希腊钱币博物馆）：

Ancients Greeks used to make their coins by placing a metal mass between two stamps (moulds) carved with the scenes that would appear in each side of the coin and then they were hitting them with a hammer until the scenes were stamped on the coin. The mass was heated in order to be soft enough for the carving purposes.

The procedure started by melting the metal and then pouring it into round bars. It was then cut in disk shaped pieces which had the same diameter and the same weigh, factors which defined the value of each coin. The discs were turned to coins once having been hit by the workers in order to be stamped. Each coin was created separately thus special care was needed on the part of the worker. The moulds on which the scenes had been carved were made of bronze, iron or brass and as they faded after having transferred their carving to many coins, they had to be replaced especially in the case a large coins number would be needed. The moulds engraving must have been a pricey procedure so sometimes the old ones were copied in order to be used for next generation coins.

The mints were small buildings and the workers used the following tools; a furnace, a scale, a scorp, a punch and a pair of tongs that were used for placing the disc on the anvil where the front side mould had been placed. On other side of the coin a pinch on which the scene had been engraved, was placed. The first side was hit by the worker with a hammer so the coin was pressed from both sides thus the carving was achieved.

古希腊货币打制

In the first years, there were no discs but round metal masses until the round bars were invented.

Metals abundance was necessary for the production of coins. A small city could just trade its products in order to buy the precious metals. On the other side, the large cities like Athens needed much more metal quantities which they used to take from the mines. For example, Athens pumped it from Lavrio mine, Aegina from Sifnos mine, King Philip II from Damasteio and Paeonia while Alexander the Great took advantage of the mines located in the areas he had conquered. The Ptolemies were provided with metals from the mines of Nouvia and from Cyprus.

http://www.greek-coins.net/making-ancient-coins/