Official Athenian weights and tokens

Material: Lead and bronze
Date range: 6th – 4th Century BC
Origin: Athens, Greece

These objects are official weights used in the ancient Athenian marketplace to ensure fair trade. Public officials called metronomoi checked merchants’ weights and measures to prevent cheating. These standards helped maintain honesty in local and foreign trade.

The large lead weight in the center shows the letters Delta, Epsilon, Mu, and Omicron, abbreviating demosion, which means public property. Other weights have symbols like the turtle of Aegina or the Athenian owl, marking them as official and sometimes indicating their value or origin.

The smaller circular tokens on the acrylic stand had various civic uses. They could serve as seals for documents, identification for civic duties, or tokens for legal purposes. Together, these items show the rules and organization that shaped daily commercial life in ancient Athens.

Museum Label Reference:

Lead tokens for the issuing of pieces of armor
4-10
They bear representations of helmet, breastplates, shields, greaves
middle of 3rd cent. B.C.