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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 600 BC - 522 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (600 BC - 522 BC) |
| Additional information |
Phokaia's electrum hektes occupy a peculiar position in early monetary history: the city's coinage predates Persian conquest, and the natural electrum alloy used — drawn from Lydian river sources — varied enough in gold-to-silver ratio that ancient merchants likely assessed these by weight rather than trusting a fixed fiduciary value. After Harpagos sacked Phokaia around 540 BC, much of the population famously fled by sea rather than submit to Achaemenid rule, relocating to Alalia in Corsica and later to Elea in southern Italy. The coins they carried with them seeded electrum coinage traditions far from their origin.