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Hekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 450 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 11.0 mm |
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| Obverse description | A nude male figure, likely a running warrior or hero, depicted in the archaic Greek style in a kneeling-run (knielauf) pose facing left, occupying the full field of the flan. The figure raises one arm, suggesting dynamic movement, and is rendered in high relief with bold, stylized musculature characteristic of early fifth-century Kyzikene electrum coinage. No inscription or legend is present. The reverse die placement results in a plain, unadorned surrounding field. The overall artistic execution reflects the vigorous, confident engraving tradition of the Propontic mint at Kyzikos. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A quadripartite incuse square divided into four triangular sections arranged in a windmill or pinwheel pattern, deeply recessed into the flan, set within a shallow incuse circle. This distinctive mill-sail incuse design is the hallmark reverse type of archaic Kyzikene electrum hektai and served as the countermark of the mint's guarantee of weight and fineness. The four triangular compartments are roughly equal in size and meet at the center in a raised cruciform ridge. No inscription is present. The incuse technique is consistent with early Greek coinage practice of the late Archaic period. |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos, situated on the Propontis in Mysia, was among the ancient world's most prolific issuers of electrum coinage, and its hektai circulated far beyond local markets — turning up in hoards across the Black Sea region, Aegean Greece, and the Levant. The city's issues served as the de facto hard currency of long-distance trade throughout the fifth century, trusted precisely because Kyzikene electrum had a reputation for consistent alloy quality at a time when such consistency was anything but guaranteed.
The natural electrum sourced from the region carried a gold-to-silver ratio that varied by deposit, making alloy standardization a genuine technical achievement rather than an accident.