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Didrachm
| Issuer | Chalkis (Euboia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Eagle displayed in right profile, wings fully extended and rendered with bold incised striations conveying individual feathers, grasping a serpent in its beak. The body of the bird is shown in dynamic mid-flight posture with talons visible beneath. The treatment of the wings occupies nearly the full flan, executed in the archaic Greek style characteristic of late sixth- to early fifth-century Euboian coinage. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (-500) |
| Additional information |
Chalkis was one of the dominant maritime and colonial powers of the archaic Greek world, having founded settlements across Sicily, southern Italy, and the Chalkidike peninsula — the latter named directly for the city. By 500 BC, however, Chalkidian commercial influence was already contracting under pressure from Athens and Eretria, its longtime rival across the narrow Lelantine Plain. The two cities had fought one of the earliest recorded wars in Greek history over that strip of fertile land, a conflict Thucydides noted drew in allies from across the Aegean.
Chalkidian silver coinage of this period is scarce. The city lost considerable autonomy after the Athenians defeated and cleruched the Hippobotai aristocracy around 506 BC.