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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Electrum |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain quadripartite incuse square formed by two intersecting raised ridges dividing the sunken punch into four irregular recessed compartments, a hallmark of early Archaic Greek hammered coinage technique. The incuse is deeply impressed and undecorated, occupying the full extent of the reverse field. No legend, device, or secondary type is present. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Phokaia |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia was among the earliest Greek cities to adopt electrum coinage, drawing on the naturally occurring gold-silver alloy sourced from the Lydian-controlled river systems of Asia Minor. The city's maritime commerce — particularly in the Aegean and western Mediterranean — made small fractional denominations like the hekte practical instruments of trade rather than ceremonial issues. Phokaia shared a coinage agreement with Mytilene, the two cities alternating electrum hekte production under terms still not fully reconstructed by scholars.
Bodenstedt 38 falls within the period bracketed by Persian consolidation of Ionia following Cyrus's conquest and the destruction of Miletos in 494 BC.