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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 478 BC - 455 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 10.0 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Facing head of a lion rendered in shallow incuse relief within a plain incuse square, the treatment characteristic of early Mytilenean electrum coinage. The mane is depicted by a stylized radiating pattern of incised lines fanning outward from the crown and cheeks, while the broad, flat facial features — including deeply set eyes and a wide muzzle — are boldly modeled. The overall design conveys an archaic ferocity consistent with early fifth-century Greek die-cutting traditions. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Mytilene, Lesbos |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene and Phocaea operated under a formal agreement — attested in ancient sources — that regulated their shared electrum coinage, standardizing weights and alternating types between the two cities. This hekte falls within the early phase of that arrangement, issued in the decades immediately following the Persian Wars when Mytilene was reasserting commercial dominance across the northeastern Aegean. The electrum itself is natural alloy from Lydian sources, not artificially blended, which creates the characteristically warm, variable gold tone seen on survivors.