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Didrachm
| Issuer | Lampsakos (Mysia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 520 BC - 500 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 18 mm |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a winged horse (Pegasos) depicted in right profile, rendered in archaic relief with careful attention to anatomical detail. The creature's large, layered wings are spread prominently, with individual feathers incised in a stylized, fan-like arrangement characteristic of early Archaic Greek coinage. The raised foreleg and alert, open-mouthed head convey a sense of dynamic forward motion. The body is rendered with fine granular texturing suggesting musculature and feathering. No legend or border is present; the design fills the broad, irregular flan. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain, irregular |
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| Additional information |
Lampsakos occupied one of the most strategically loaded positions in the ancient Greek world — controlling the narrows where the Hellespont meets the Propontis meant taxing virtually every grain ship moving between the Black Sea and the Aegean. The city's early silver coinage reflects that wealth, struck during a period when Lampsakos sat uncomfortably within the expanding Persian sphere yet maintained enough autonomy to produce its own currency. By 513 BC, Darius had crossed the Hellespont nearby on his Scythian campaign, and the region's Greek cities were navigating the precise edge between submission and independence.