Hekte

Phokaia's electrum hektes circulated under a remarkable inter-city agreement with Mytilene on Lesbos, the two poleis alternating coin production under a formal treaty — one of the few documented mint-sharing arrangements in the ancient Greek world. Phokaia's issues are distinguished by a small incuse seal on the reverse, the city's eponymous emblem, which also served as a civic identifier in what was otherwise a metal whose natural electrum composition varied enough to invite adulteration. Bodenstedt 81 falls within the later phase of the series, closer to its terminus when Persian pressure forced Phokaia's effective withdrawal from independent coinage.