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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Bodenstedt#11, SNG Lockett#2754, HGC 6#936 |
| Obverse description | Ram's head in right profile, rendered in fine archaic relief with carefully detailed curved horn and facial musculature. In the lower field, a rooster is depicted facing left in a pecking or feeding posture. The composition occupies the full flan, with both figures sharing the obverse field in a characteristically Mytilenean arrangement. The naturalistic treatment of the animal forms reflects the accomplished engraving tradition of Lesbos during the late Archaic period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (521 BC - 478 BC) |
| Additional information |
Mytilene and Phocaea operated under a formal agreement — likely dating to the late sixth century — to jointly regulate electrum coinage, alternating types on a shared weight standard. This hekte predates that agreement, placing it among the earliest independent Mytilenean issues, struck before the alliance formalized what became one of the ancient world's most stable electrum series. The natural electrum used in early production carried inconsistent gold-to-silver ratios, meaning individual pieces varied in intrinsic value in ways that later, more controlled issues did not.