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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.54 g |
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| Obverse description | A forepart of a griffin rendered in high relief within a shallow incuse circle, depicted in profile facing left, with a prominent hooked beak, raised wing, and coiling serpentine body rendered in the archaic Ionian artistic tradition. The creature's musculature and feather details are crisply articulated, demonstrating the refined die-cutting characteristic of Phokaian electrum coinage. The design occupies the majority of the flan, with the naturalistic form of the griffin's body curving dynamically within the circular field. No legend or inscription is present, consistent with archaic Greek coinage convention. The surface retains the warm golden-amber tone typical of high-quality Phokaian electrum alloy. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia's electrum hektes were among the earliest coins struck in the Greek world, produced by a city whose merchant fleets made it one of the most commercially aggressive poleis of the archaic Aegean. The natural electrum alloy used here — drawn from Lydian sources or local river deposits — was notoriously variable in gold-to-silver ratio, and Phokaian issues are identifiable in part by their consistently higher gold content compared to Lesbian or Lydian competitors.
Bodenstedt 47 falls within a sequence interrupted by the Persian conquest of Phokaia around 540 BC, after which many citizens famously abandoned the city entirely rather than submit to Harpagos. Minting resumed under Persian tolerance, though the political authority behind these later issues remains genuinely disputed.