Obolus
ὀβολός
Obolus (ὀβολός) was the sixth part of a drachm [see PONDERA, DRACHMA], whether as weight or coin. As a silver coin the obol was in circulation in Greece, Asia, and the West from early times, as well as its multiples the tetrobol, triobol (hemidrachm), and diobol. In the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. the fractions of an obol, the hemiobol, tetartemorion, &c., were issued in silver at Athens and other cities. About B.C. 400 copper coin began to be in use, and the obolus and its parts were issued in that metal. As an instance we figure a copper coin of Metapontum, identified as an obolus by its inscription. The metal value of the obolus varied according to the standard followed in its striking; it would be between one penny and twopence. In Athens the obolus contained 8 χαλκοῖ.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.