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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene (Lesbos) |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 378 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The head of Pan in profile facing right, distinguished by his characteristic small horn projecting from the forehead and closely cropped hair rendered in fine parallel lines; the visage displays the broad, rustic features typical of Pan iconography in the classical Greek tradition. The bust is contained within a raised linear square border, itself set within a shallow incuse square, a hallmark technique of Mytilene's electrum hekte coinage. No legend is present; the composition is spare and centered, allowing the bold, slightly idealized portrait to dominate the design field. |
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| Mintage | ND (412 BC - 378 BC) |
| Additional information |
Mytilene's electrum hektes were struck under a well-documented civic coinage program that ran for roughly two centuries, with each obverse type paired to a specific reverse — a matching system that allows modern scholars to sequence the issues with unusual precision. Bodenstedt's 1981 corpus remains the definitive typological study, and pieces assigned to his 69th type fall within the later phase of production, after Mytilene's catastrophic revolt against Athens in 428 BC had reshaped the city's political and economic relationships across the Aegean.
The electrum itself was not locally sourced; Lesbos had no significant gold deposits, making the alloy's procurement a matter of active trade networks.