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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Head of a griffin in left profile, rendered in archaic Greek style with characteristic curling wing emerging behind the head and a prominent open beak. The eye is boldly rendered and the surface treatment reflects the refined Phokaian engraving tradition of the late Archaic period. No legends or inscriptions appear in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (521 BC - 478 BC) |
| Additional information |
Phokaia was among the most aggressive colonizers of the ancient Greek world, planting settlements from the Black Sea coast to Massalia (modern Marseille) and Emporion in Iberia. This commercial reach gave Phokaian coinage unusual circulation range for a city of its size. The electrum hekte of Phokaia was actually adopted as a standard trade denomination across the Ionian League, suggesting the mint carried genuine monetary authority well beyond its home harbor.
The dating bracket here straddles the Persian destruction of Phokaia's regional power following the Ionian Revolt and the Battle of Lade in 494 BC — a defeat so total that much of the population had already fled decades earlier rather than submit to Achaemenid rule.