Hekte

Kyzikos, the Propontine city that dominated electrum coinage for roughly two centuries, produced hektes in staggering variety — over 200 distinct types are recorded, each with a different obverse device while the tunny fish remained the city's consistent reverse marker. This piece dates to the height of that production, when Kyzikene electrum circulated across the Greek world as a trusted trade currency, particularly among mercenary paymasters operating in the eastern Aegean.

The specific H&L II#172 type sits within a corpus where natural electrum composition varied batch to batch, with gold content ranging roughly from 70% to over 90% depending on available alluvial sources.