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Diobol
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Obols (⅓) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided by a raised central cross into four recessed compartments of unequal depth, a hallmark of early Archaic Greek coinage struck by the hammered technique. The incuse punches display a rough, granular surface texture consistent with the mill-punch method employed at Ionian mints during the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC. No legend or additional device appears within the incuse field. The overall form is typical of the reverse type used for fractional silver coinage of Phokaia during this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (521 BC - 478 BC) |
| Additional information |
Phokaia was among the most aggressive colonizing cities of the ancient Greek world — its merchants and sailors founded Massalia (modern Marseille) around 600 BC and pushed as far west as the Iberian coast. This diobol falls within the period following the Persian conquest of Ionia in 546 BC, when Phokaia itself had largely been abandoned by citizens who fled rather than submit to Harpagos. Those who remained eventually negotiated a degree of autonomy, and coinage resumed under Persian hegemony. The electrum coinage of Phokaia is better known, but these small silver fractions served the everyday transactions the larger pieces could not.