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Drachm
| Issuer | Chalkis (Euboia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 338 BC - 308 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Head of a youthful female divinity, identified as Hera, facing right, rendered in fine late Classical style with subtly modeled features. The hair is elaborately dressed, drawn back in waves and bound with a wreath or stephane, with loose locks falling to the nape of the neck. The portrait is set within a plain, slightly irregular round flan, characteristic of hand-struck coinage. The facial profile is graceful and naturalistic, reflecting the accomplished die-cutting tradition of Euboian mints of the period. |
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| Reverse description | An eagle standing in three-quarter view to the right, wings partially spread, grasping a serpent in its talons and turning its head to confront the snake. The eagle's plumage is rendered with fine incised detail, and the muscular tension of the predatory encounter is vividly conveyed. The ethnic inscription ΧΑΛ (for Chalkis) appears in the field, identifying the issuing city. The composition fills the flan confidently, with no exergual line, consistent with Chalkidian coinage of the late fourth century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Chalkis sat at the narrow strait between Euboia and the Boeotian mainland — a crossing so strategically valuable that control of it effectively meant control of central Greek maritime traffic. This issue falls squarely within the period following Philip II's victory at Chaironeia in 338 BC, which dissolved the autonomy of most Greek poleis and brought Chalkis under Macedonian influence. That the city continued striking its own silver through this period reflects the administrative tolerance Macedonia extended to compliant coastal cities whose harbors it needed.
The weight standard here is Euboic, which had long anchored Athenian coinage before Athens shifted practices in the fifth century.