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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.57 g |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a winged ram (griffin-like creature) facing left in high relief, rendered in the archaic Greek style with finely engraved feathers on the outstretched wing and a prominent rounded body. The creature's forelimbs are extended forward, with the head turned slightly downward. The surface of the electrum flan is irregular and slightly convex, consistent with early archaic hammered coinage. No legend or inscription appears in the field. The overall composition reflects the accomplished die-cutting tradition of Mytilene during the late archaic period. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene's electrum hektai were struck in a civic coinage tradition that persisted for roughly two centuries, with the city issuing denominations in partnership with neighboring Phokaia under a formal agreement — each city alternating types on a shared weight standard. This particular emission falls within the archaic phase, before that alliance was formalized around 478 BC, placing it among the earliest of the Mytilenean series.
Bodenstedt's 1976 typology remains the authoritative reference for this series, numbering over 130 distinct types.