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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 378 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hekte (14⁄3) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Bearded male head in right profile, identified as Ares, wearing a crested Attic helmet with a prominent cheekpiece and finely rendered crest rendered in high relief. The facial features are boldly modelled in the archaic-classical style characteristic of Lesbian electrum coinage, with a strong jaw, defined brow, and carefully articulated beard. The helmet bowl and crest are depicted with fine engraving detail, consistent with the accomplished die-cutting tradition of Mytilene. The design fills the flan, with no border or legend present. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Mint | Mytilene |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene's electrum hektes were struck under a long-running civic agreement with Phokaia — the two cities alternating annual issues, a monetary arrangement that survived wars, oligarchic coups, and the catastrophic Athenian debate of 427 BC in which the entire male population of Mytilene was nearly condemned to death by assembly vote. Bodenstedt 66 falls within the mature phase of the series, after production resumed with apparent confidence despite the city's precarious position between Athenian and later Spartan spheres of influence.
The natural electrum alloy used in these hektes varies in gold content across the series, typically running between 40% and 55% gold — a range tight enough to suggest quality control, but wide enough to reflect the inconsistency of the raw Lydian metal sources.