Hekte

Kyzikos was among the most prolific issuers of electrum coinage in the ancient Greek world, and its hektes circulated far beyond Mysia — they functioned as a near-universal trade currency across the Black Sea littoral and into the Aegean. The city controlled tuna fishing routes through the Propontis, and the fish motif recurring across Kyzikene types almost certainly reflects that commercial identity rather than any civic or religious program.

The Von Fritze classification system for this series, published in 1912, remains the foundational reference despite over a century of subsequent finds. No ancient mint records survive; attribution relies entirely on typological grouping and hoard provenance.