Hekte

Mytilene and Phokaia operated a formal agreement — likely dating to the early fifth century — under which both cities struck electrum hektai on a shared weight standard, an arrangement almost unique in the Greek world and documented by the near-identical fabric of surviving pieces from both mints. The natural electrum alloy used was sourced from the Lydian hinterland, with gold-to-silver ratios varying enough between dies that ancient users likely accepted them on trust rather than assay.

Bodenstedt 55 falls within the mature phase of the Mytilenaean series, before the city's catastrophic revolt against Athens in 428/7 BC and the near-annihilation Thucydides records.