Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Hekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 450 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hekte (⅙) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A recumbent lion facing left occupies the central field, its right forepaw raised in a characteristic Kyzikene heraldic pose; beneath the lion, a tunny fish (tuna) swims to the left, serving as the civic badge of Kyzikos and a hallmark of its electrum coinage. The design is rendered in bold archaic relief, with the animal forms exhibiting the stylized musculature typical of late Archaic Greek die-cutting. The composition is contained within an irregularly rounded flan without inscription or border. No legend is present. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos was the dominant electrum mint of the ancient Greek world for roughly two centuries, producing a staggering volume of hektes that functioned as the preferred trade currency across the Black Sea and Aegean. The city's position on the Propontis made it the natural intermediary between Greek commerce and the grain routes of Scythia. Unlike Lydian or Phokaic electrum, the Kyzkiene issues were struck in a natural alloy sourced directly from local river deposits, with gold content varying enough across the series that ancient merchants likely assayed individual coins rather than taking them at face.