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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 625 BC - 522 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a kneeling griffin facing right, rendered in archaic relief with bold, stylized musculature. The creature displays prominent pointed ears, a hooked beak, and a raised wing indicated by incised feather detailing. The forelegs are tucked beneath the body in a characteristic crouching posture. The flan exhibits the typical irregular, globular fabric of early Phokaian electrum coinage. No legend or inscription is present in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia's electrum hektai were among the earliest coined money in the Greek world, produced by a city whose merchant fleet ranged as far west as Massalia and the Iberian coast. The natural electrum alloy sourced from the Paktolos river region gave these early issues a gold content that varied — a fact ancient traders almost certainly accommodated through weighing rather than trusting face value alone.
Bodenstedt 28 falls within the sequence that terminates around 522 BC, the approximate date the Persians under Cambyses tightened control over Ionian coastal cities, disrupting Phokaia's independent monetary output.