Hekte

Kyzikos dominated electrum coinage production in the Aegean for roughly two centuries, and its hektes circulated far beyond Mysia — recovered from hoards as distant as the Black Sea coast and the Levant. The city's issues functioned as a de facto international trading currency, accepted on the basis of consistent metal quality rather than political authority. The electrum itself was almost certainly sourced and alloyed locally, with Kyzikene pieces maintaining a notably higher gold content than the natural electrum used at Sardis.