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Hekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 330 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 |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Von Fritze#103, Greenwell#141, BostonMFA#1539, Jameson#2183, SNG France#244, SNG von Aulock#7300, SNG Lockett#2691, Rosen#484 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square occupying the full reverse field, divided by two diagonal ridges meeting at the centre to form four recessed triangular compartments of roughly equal size, a hallmark of early electrum coinage struck by the punch technique. The incuse pattern is deeply impressed and exhibits the granular texture typical of hammered Kyzikene hektes. The flan edges are irregular, consistent with the hand-cut planchet preparation common to this series. No legend or additional devices are present. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the prosperous Propontis city-state, dominated electrum coinage production across much of the fifth and fourth centuries BC precisely because the region had reliable access to naturally occurring electrum from Lydian river sources. The hekte — one-sixth of a stater — functioned as the workhorse denomination of this coinage, and Kyzikan electrum circulated far beyond the Propontis into Aegean and Black Sea trade networks, turning up in hoards from Egypt to the Crimea.
The city struck an extraordinary variety of reverse types across this period, with the tunny fish appearing as a near-constant identifying element. No two obverse types repeat, which has made systematic die study — reflected in the density of references this piece carries — an ongoing scholarly project since Von Fritze's foundational 1912 corpus.