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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Incuse head of a rooster facing left, rendered in shallow relief within an incuse square, displaying a prominent full comb and a beaded collar encircling the neck. An irregular rectangular incuse punch is visible in the field to the right of the rooster's head, a hallmark of early archaic electrum striking technique. The design reflects the characteristically bold, stylized iconography of Mytilenaean hektes of the late sixth to early fifth century BC. |
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| Mint | Mytilene, Lesbos |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene and Phokaia operated a formal agreement — likely established by the late sixth century — to produce electrum coinage on a shared standard, alternating types on a fixed schedule. This hekte falls within the earliest phase of that arrangement, predating the Persian Wars that would briefly disrupt Lesbian commerce and bring Mytilene into the orbit of shifting Aegean alliances. The natural electrum alloy used in this period had no standardized gold-to-silver ratio; Bodenstedt's careful die studies revealed measurable composition drift across the series.