Didrachm Metapontum, 710 B.C., from the Ancient Coins series (N180) issued by Wm. S. Kimball & Co.

Art Historical Context

This charming chromolithograph, titled *Didrachm Metapontum, 710 B.C.*, is a tiny gem from the "Ancient Coins series (N180)" produced by William S. Kimball Company in 1888 Measuring just 1 1/2 × 2 5/8 inches, this commercial color lithograph faithfully reproduces an ancient silver didrachm—a two-drachma coin—from the Greek colony of Metapontum in Italy. Part of a popular 19th-century trend in collectible trade cards, it captures the intricate details of classical numismatics, evoking the economic and artistic prowess of Magna Graecia around 710 B.C. Chromolithography, at its vibrant peak in the 1880s, allowed companies like Kimball—a Rochester, New York, tobacco firm—to mass-produce these vivid, affordable prints as promotional inserts in cigarette packs. These ephemera cards educated and enticed collectors with historical themes, blending commerce with classical revivalism during America's Gilded Age fascination with antiquity. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this piece highlights the intersection of advertising art and cultural preservation. It reminds us how everyday objects bridged the ancient world and modern leisure, turning pocket change into pocket treasures.

About the Artist

William S. Kimball & Company · 1850–1950

**William S. Kimball & Company**, a pioneering American tobacco manufacturer, was established in 1846 in Rochester, New York, by William S. Kimball and James C. Hart. The firm quickly grew into one of the city's largest employers, particularly of women, producing popular brands like Peerless chewing tobacco, Rigatta and Fireside smoking tobacco, and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Under Kimball's leadersh...