Mytilene and Phocaea operated under a formal agreement — likely established in the early fifth century — to issue electrum coinage on alternating cycles, a monetarily unusual arrangement that kept both cities' issues distinct while sharing the regional market. Mytilene's hektes were struck in a naturally occurring gold-silver alloy supplemented to a consistent ratio, giving the series a warmer tone than Phocaean issues. The precise dating window of this type places it across the upheaval of the Peloponnesian War's conclusion and into the period of Spartan hegemony.
Bodenstedt 71 is one of the later types in the series, attributed by die study rather than documentary record.
Mytilene and Phocaea operated under a formal agreement — likely established in the early fifth century — to issue electrum coinage on alternating cycles, a monetarily unusual arrangement that kept both cities' issues distinct while sharing the regional market. Mytilene's hektes were struck in a naturally occurring gold-silver alloy supplemented to a consistent ratio, giving the series a warmer tone than Phocaean issues. The precise dating window of this type places it across the upheaval of the Peloponnesian War's conclusion and into the period of Spartan hegemony.
Bodenstedt 71 is one of the later types in the series, attributed by die study rather than documentary record.