Panhellenic sanctuaries and monetary reform: Elis and Epidauros’ adoption of the symmachic weight standard

Mints associated with the sanctuaries of Olympia and Epidauros transitioned from striking silver coinage on the Aiginetan weight standard to the symmachic standard, ca. 16% lighter, in the 250s or 240s BC, decades before other states in southern Greece. The light weight of these new coins dissuaded foreign visitors from removing them when they departed, stabilising the local money supply, while their types advertised the prestige of the local penteteric festivals amid increased competition from new festivals of similar status throughout the Mediterranean. This is an example of how Panhellenic sanctuaries could exert influence over monetary trends in the Hellenistic period.