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Hekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square of irregular form, divided into four recessed compartments by raised bands meeting at the centre, characteristic of early Archaic hammered coinage. The incuse punch impression is deeply struck and slightly asymmetric, consistent with the manual striking technique of the late 6th century BC. The surface of the compartments shows the rough texture typical of the punch used at the Kyzikos mint during this period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (550 BC - 500 BC) |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the Propontic city on the southern shore of the Marmara, produced electrum hektes almost continuously from the late archaic period through the fourth century — a coinage so trusted across the Greek world that Kyzikene staters and their fractions functioned as an international trade currency well beyond their region of issue. The natural electrum alloy used in early issues like this one was sourced from Lydian river gold, giving each coin a slightly variable gold-to-silver ratio that ancient merchants accepted on weight rather than precise fineness.
Von Fritze's classification of this type places it among the earliest Kyzikene fractions, predating the city's more systematized later output.