Obol (coin)

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 (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.