Hekte

Phokaia's electrum hektai were among the earliest fractional coinages struck in the Greek world, produced by a city whose merchant fleet ranged as far west as Massalia — modern Marseille — and the Iberian coast. The natural electrum used here was sourced from Lydian river deposits, and Phokaian issues are distinguishable from Lydian ones partly by their consistently lower gold content, a characteristic Bodenstedt documented systematically across the series.

Production of this type ceased abruptly when Phokaia fell to the Persians under Harpagos around 540 BC, prompting a mass emigration of citizens. A residual population remained, and limited minting resumed — this piece dates to that later phase, ending definitively with the Ionian Revolt's suppression.