thumb|The earliest coinage of [[Athens, a "Wappenmünzen" didrachm struck -525/515 BC]]
thumb|Archaic drachm of Athens with effigy of [[Athena on the obverse, and olive sprig, owl and , initials of "Athens" on the reverse. Struck -500/490 BC]]
The history of ancient Greek coinage can be divided (along with most other Greek art forms) into four periods: the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic and the Roman. The Archaic period extends from the introduction of coinage to the Greek world during the 7th century BC until the Persian Wars in about 480 BC. The Classical period then began, and lasted until the conquests of Alexander the Great in about 330 BC, which began the Hellenistic period, extending until the Roman absorption of the Greek world in the 1st century BC. The Greek cities continued to produce their own coins for several more centuries under Roman rule. The coins produced during this period are called Roman provincial coins or Greek imperial coins.
Weight standards and denominations
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%" align="center"
|-
!colspan="4"| Denominations of silver coinage according to the Attic standard
|-
! Image !!Denomination !! Value !! Weight
|-
|190px|center
|Decadrachm
|10 drachmae
|~43 grams
|-
|160px|center
|Tetradrachm
|4 drachmae
|~17.2 grams
|-
|130px|center
|Didrachm
|2 drachmae
|~8.6 grams
|-
|91px|center
|Drachma
|6 obols
|~4.3 grams
|-
|79px|center
|Tetrobol
|4 obols
|~2.85 grams
|-
|67px|center
|Hemidrachm (triobol)
|3 obols
|~2.15 grams
|-
|64px|center
|Diobol
|2 obols
|~1.43 grams
|-
|54px|center
|Trihemiobol
|1½ obols
|~1.08 grams
|-
|49px|center
|Obol
|4 tetartemorions
|~0.72 grams
|-
|45px|center
|Tritartemorion
|3 tetartemorions
|~0.54 grams
|-
|40px|center
|Hemiobol
|2 tetartemorions
|~0.36 grams
|-
|38px|center
|Trihemitetartemorion
| tetartemorions
|~0.27 grams
|-
|32px|center
|Tetartemorion
| obol
|~0.18 grams
|-
|31px|center
|Hemitetartemorion
| tetartemorion
|~0.09 grams
|}
The three most important standards of the ancient Greek monetary system were the Attic standard, based on the Athenian drachma of of silver, the Corinthian standard based on the stater of of silver, that was subdivided into three silver drachmas of , and the Aeginetan stater or didrachm of , based on a drachma of . The words drachm and drachma come from Ancient Greek (), an older form of (), meaning , or literally .), and six spits made a "handful". This suggests that before coinage came to be used in Greece, spits in prehistoric times were used as measures in daily transactions. In archaic, pre-numismatic times iron was valued for making durable tools and weapons, and its casting in spit form may have actually represented a form of transportable bullion, which eventually became bulky and inconvenient after the adoption of precious metals. Because of this very aspect, Spartan legislation famously forbade issuance of Spartan coin, and enforced the use of iron ingots, called pelanoi in order to discourage avarice and the hoarding of wealth. In addition to its original meaning (which also gave the diminutive "obelisk", "little spit"), the word obol (ὀβολός, obolós, or ὀβελός, obelós) was retained as a Greek word for coins of small value, still used as such in Modern Greek slang (όβολα, óvola, "monies").
thumb|left|Above: Six rod-shaped obeloi (oboloi) displayed at the [[Numismatic Museum of Athens, discovered at Heraion of Argos. Below: grasp of six oboloi forming one drachma]]
The obol was further subdivided into tetartemorioi (singular tetartemorion) which represented obol, or drachm. This coin (which was known to have been struck in Athens, Colophon, and several other cities) is mentioned by Aristotle as the smallest silver coin. Various multiples of this denomination were also struck, including the trihemitetartemorion (literally three half-tetartemorioi) valued at of an obol.
The earliest known electrum coins, Lydian and East Greek coins found under the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, are dated to around 640 BC. These coins were issued either by the non-Greek Lydians for their own use or perhaps because Greek mercenaries wanted to be paid in precious metal at the conclusion of their time of service, and wanted to have their payments marked in a way that would authenticate them. These coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that was highly prized and abundant in that area.
In the middle of the 6th century BC, King Croesus replaced the electrum coins with coins of pure gold and pure silver, called Croeseids.