Hekte

Kyzikos held a near-monopoly on electrum coinage in the eastern Aegean for roughly two centuries, and its hektes functioned as a de facto international trade currency across the Greek world, accepted from the Black Sea coast to the Aegean islands without the friction of local exchange rates. The city's position on the Propontis made it the natural clearinghouse for grain and timber moving between the Pontic region and Athens.

The alloy itself was not standardized by modern metallurgical logic — Kyzikenian electrum varies measurably in gold content across the series, yet the coins circulated at a consistent premium, suggesting acceptance was based on issuer reputation rather than assayed fineness.