Hekte

Kyzikos dominated electrum coinage in the Aegean during the fifth century, issuing a vast and varied series of hektai that functioned as a de facto international trade currency across Greek, Persian, and Thracian markets simultaneously. The city's position on the Propontis made it a commercial clearinghouse, and its electrum was trusted precisely because Kyzikene issues were never debased — merchants could rely on consistent metal quality in ways they couldn't with many civic coinages.

The natural alloy composition varied piece to piece, as was inherent to electrum sourced from Lydian river deposits.