Attic Drachma (drachma)

Ancient GreekHistorical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

About 4.366 g of silver. The weight of the basic ancient Greek coin of the same name.

1 Attic drachma = 0.004366 kilograms (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the Attic drachma varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the Attic drachma

Greek drassomai means to grasp, and the drachma is usually explained as a handful. Early bullion money took the form of metal rods, and six of them made a fistful. When coins replaced the rods, the name stayed with the coin that stood for that handful. Cities minted drachmas to different weight standards, and the Athenian or Attic one became the most widespread. It is commonly put at a little over 4.3 grams of silver, and the figure used here, 4.366 grams, is one estimate within that range.

Surviving coins and weights depart noticeably from any theoretical value, so the true standard remains somewhat uncertain. Six obols made one drachma, and 100 drachmas made a mina. In the fifth and fourth centuries BC a skilled worker or soldier earned roughly one drachma a day. Athenian silver from the Laurion mines had a reputation for purity. A drachma weighs about as much as a modern teaspoon of sugar, roughly a seventh of an ounce, and its name was revived for Greece's national currency from 1833 until the euro arrived in 2002.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ancient drachma; Wikipedia: Ancient Greek units of measurement; Wikipedia: Mina (unit)

Attic Drachma conversion chart

1 Attic drachma expressed in every other weight & mass unit:

More Ancient Greek units

• Attic talent (weight & mass)
• Attic mina (weight & mass)
• obol (weight & mass)
• stadion (length)
• Greek foot (Olympic) (length)
• olympiad (time)
• myriad (counting & quantity)

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