Greek Letters on Ancient Greek and Roman Coins

Also see:

Greek dates

Greek Numismatic Dictionary

Greek Letters

This table lists the Greek letters, their names, equivalent English letters, and tips for pronouncing those letters which are pronounced differently from the equivalent English letters.¹

Sigma (σ, ς): There are two forms for the letter Sigma. When written at the end of a word, it is written like this: ς. If it occurs anywhere else, it is written like this: σ.

Archaic Greek Letters

      digamma   w  
      heta          e     Ͱ
      san           zs(?)
Ч    koppa       k
   sampi       ss    ϖ

Greek Pronunciation

Keyboard Key

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Symbol Font Upper Case

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Symbol Font Lower Case

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

y

z

HTML Codes for Greek Letters

α α β β γ γ δ δ ε ε ζ ζ η η θ θ ι ι κ κ λ λ μ μ ν ν ξ ξ ο ο π π ρ ρ ς ς σ σ τ τ υ υ φ φ χ χ ψ ψ ω ω

Α Α Β Β Γ Γ Δ Δ Ε / Є / Э Ε / &1028; / &1069; Ζ Ζ Η Η Θ Θ Ι Ι Κ Κ Λ Λ Μ Μ Ν Ν Ξ Ξ Ο Ο Π Π Ρ Ρ Σ Σ Σ Σ Τ Τ Υ Υ Φ Φ Χ Χ Ψ Ψ Ω Ω Ϙ Ч &#1063

How to write Greek letters

The arrows show you where to start when you write Greek letters.¹

How to Read Greek Letter Dates and Officina Numbers

A	1		I	10		R	100
B	2		K	20		S,C	200
G	3		L	30		T	300
D	4		M	40		U	400
E	5		N	50		F	500
S, ς (stigma)	6		X	60		C	600
Z	7		O	70
H	8		P	80
Q or DE	9		,Ч (koppa)	90

Date numerals are often preceded by ΕΤΟΥΣ (year in Greek), frequently written or abbreviated ETOYC, ET, or E. L was also a symbol for "year." It probably originated in Egypt and may have been derived from a hieroglyph. Example: LΓΞΡ = Year 163

Greek dates are also sometimes written out or abbreviated. Some examples follow:

ΤΡΙΤΟΥ = year 3
ΤΕΤΑΡΤΟΥ = year 4
ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 5
ΕΝΑΤΟΥ, ΕΤΕΝΑΤ = year 9
∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ, Λ∆Ε= year 10
ΕΝ∆ΕΚΑΤΟΥ = year 11
∆Ω∆ΕΚΑΤ = year 12
∆Ω∆ΕΚ = year 12 ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ∆ΕΚΑ, ΤΡΙCΚΑΙ = year 13
ΕΝΝΕΑΚ∆ = year 19
ΕΝΝΕΑΚΚ∆ = year 19

The dates as written above may not be "proper" Greek. They are sample dates as actually used on Roman provincial coins minted in Alexandria and other cities.

To date a coin, you need to know the start date for the era. For most Roman coins it is the start of the emperor 's reign. Some other era start dates are listed below:

Era	Start Date
Seleucid	Autumn 312 B.C.
Pompeian	64 B.C.
Caesarian	Autumn 49 B.C.
Capitolias, Decapolis	97 A.D.
Neopolis, Samaria	72 or 73 A.D.
Dora, Samaria	64/63 B.C. (variation on Pompeian)
Provincial Arabia	106 A.D.
Philadelphia, Syria	63 B.C. (variation on Pompeian)
Chalcis, Chalcidice, Syria	92 A.D.
Anazarbus, Cilicia	19 B.C.

If the era started in before the common era, to determine the common era (AD or CE) date, subtract the era start year from the date on the coin. If the result is less than zero, determine the date before the common era (BC or BCE) by subtracting the date on the coin from the era start year and then adding one.

If the era started in the common era (AD or CE), add the start year to the date and then subtract one to determine the common era date.

Common Greek Titles for Roman Emperors and Their Wives (with some abbreviations)

AUGOUCTA = Augusta
AUTOKRATOR (AUT, AUTOK) = Imperator
GERMANIKOS (GERM) = Germanicus
DAKIKOC (DAK) = Dacius
DHMARCIKHS EXOUCIAC(DHMARC EX) = Tribunicia Potestas
KAISAR (K, KAI, KAIS) = Caesar
PARQIKOC (PAR) = Parthicus
SEBASTOS (SEB) or CEBACTOC (CEB)= Augustus
UPATOC = Consul (usually followed by the number of terms served)

From Historia Numorum