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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 478 BC - 387 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hekte (10⁄3) |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square dominating the entire reverse field, divided into four triangular compartments by raised diagonal ridges meeting at the center, creating a windmill or pinwheel configuration. The incuse recesses show varying depths across the four sections, a hallmark of early Phokaian hammered electrum coinage. No legend or subsidiary device is present; the purely geometric design is characteristic of Archaic Greek hekte reverses produced by the Phokaia mint. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Phokaia |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Phokaia's electrum hekte series ran under a peculiar monetary arrangement: the city shared minting rights with Mytilene on Lesbos, alternating issues by agreement so that both poleis could supply the lucrative electrum fraction trade without glutting the market. The Bodenstedt 82 type falls within the later phase of this output, cut short when Phokaia fell under Spartan-enforced Persian terms following the King's Peace of 387 BC, which effectively ended the city's autonomous coinage.
The natural electrum alloy sourced from the Lydian interior gave Phokaian hektes a slightly variable gold-to-silver ratio — a known metallurgical inconsistency across the series.