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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene (Lesbos) |
|---|---|
| Year | 478 BC - 455 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Incuse head of a bull facing right, struck in sunken relief as a mirror image within a square or irregularly shaped incuse punch. The bovine head is rendered with careful attention to anatomical detail, including the curved ear, muzzle, and the folds of skin at the neck, with linear striations suggesting the texture of the coat. The incuse technique, characteristic of early archaic and transitional Greek coinage, creates a stark contrast in relief relative to the obverse. The field surrounding the incuse design is plain and unadorned. No legend is present on this face. |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene and Phocaea operated under a formal agreement — likely established in the early fifth century — by which the two cities alternated production of electrum hektes on a shared standard, dividing output between them while maintaining distinct types. This piece falls within the decades immediately following Mytilene's participation in the Ionian Revolt and its aftermath under Persian dominance, a period when the city was carefully rebuilding commercial relationships across the Aegean. The natural electrum alloy used at Mytilene was not refined to a fixed gold-silver ratio, meaning individual coins from this series vary measurably in fineness.