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Hekte
| Issuer | Phokaia (Ionia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Head of Athena facing left, depicted in archaic Greek style, wearing a crested Attic helmet adorned with a row of pellets along the brow band. The hair falls in beaded tresses behind the neck, rendered with characteristic Ionian artistry. The facial features are modeled in profile with a pronounced archaic physiognomy. The flan is slightly irregular, as typical of early hammered electrum coinage from the region. |
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| Mintage | ND (521 BC - 478 BC) |
| Additional information |
Phokaia was the preeminent electrum-minting city of Ionia alongside Mytilene, and the two poleis maintained a formal minting agreement — likely dating to the fifth century — to alternate production schedules and standardize the hekte weight. This piece falls within the period bracketed by the Persian sack of Phokaia's mainland territory around 540 BC and the broader disruptions of the Ionian Revolt, during which civic coin production became intermittent at best. The Phokaians were also famous colonizers; their electrum issues circulated far beyond Ionia, turning up in hoards from the Black Sea to the western Mediterranean.
Bodenstedt 41 is a relatively scarce die pairing within the Phokaian hekte sequence.