Obol (coin)

For the modern Greek currency, see the Ionian obol; for the British currency, see the halfpenny; for the brachiopod genus, see Obolidae
Not to be confused with Obelus.
Obols through history
Six rod-shaped obols discovered at the Heraion of Argos (above). Six obols forming one drachma.
Silver obol of Athens, dated 515–510 BC. Obv. Gorgoneion Rev. Incuse square.
Charon's obol. 5th–1st century BC.
LUCANIA, Metapontion. c. 425–350 BC. Æ 21 mm.
An obol of the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, 12 mm in diameter
A 19th-century obol from the British-occupied Ionian Islands

The obol (‹See Tfd›Greek: ὀβολός, obolos, also ὀβελός (obelós), ὀβελλός (obellós), ὀδελός (odelós). lit. "nail, metal spit";[1] Latin: obolus) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight.

  1. ^ ὀβολός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.