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Diobol
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | SNG Copenhagen 388-389; BMC Ionia p. 214 |
| Obverse description | Head of a griffin facing left, rendered in archaic style with a prominent rounded eye, open beak, and a distinctive knob atop the skull. The surface is decorated with a series of pellets along the neck and jaw, characteristic of Phokaian coinage of this period. The design fills the flan with bold, stylized relief typical of early Ionian electrum and silver coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided into four triangular sections by two diagonal grooves meeting at the center, creating a characteristic windmill or mill-sail pattern. The incuse is deeply struck and irregular in form, consistent with archaic hammered coinage technique. No legend or subsidiary design elements are present; the reverse serves purely as a die countermark confirming the authenticity of the silver flan. |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia's coinage was among the earliest silver struck in Ionia, though the city was better known for its electrum issues — the silver series emerged partly as a practical response to the need for smaller commercial denominations that electrum's variable gold content made difficult to standardize. The date range here spans the period from just before to just after the Persian sack of 546 BC, which drove a significant portion of the Phokaian population to found Elea in southern Italy rather than submit to Harpagos.
Whether this specific diobol predates or postdates that exodus is unresolvable from type alone.