Hekte

Kyzikos, positioned on the Propontis with direct access to both Black Sea trade routes and Aegean commerce, became the dominant electrum-minting city of the ancient world during this period. The Kyzikene stater and its fractions, including the hekte, functioned as a trusted international currency across Greek settlements far beyond the Bithynian coast — a remarkable achievement for a regional mint. The natural electrum source here carried a higher gold-to-silver ratio than Lydian material, which specialists argue contributed to the consistent trust placed in these coins by merchants.

Von Fritze's classification of this hekte places it among the tuna-reverse types, the tunny fish being the persistent reverse type that authenticated Kyzikene issues across generations of dies and changing obverse designs.