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Hemidrachm
| Issuer | Tenos |
|---|---|
| Year | 520 BC - 500 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.45 g |
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| Obverse description | Bunch of grapes depicted in high relief, rendered with a cluster of rounded pellets representing individual berries, arranged in the characteristic triangular form of a grapevine cluster. The design is centrally positioned within the flan and executed in the archaic Greek artistic style typical of Cycladic island coinage of the late 6th century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Rough incuse square of irregular quadripartite form deeply punched into the flan, displaying an uneven, striated surface texture characteristic of early archaic Greek hammered coinage. The incuse punch is boldly impressed but lacks any figurative or epigraphic design, consistent with primitive striking techniques employed in the Cyclades during the late Archaic period. |
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| Additional information |
Tenos, the small Cycladic island best known in antiquity for its sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite, produced a limited coinage that reflects the island's modest but real participation in Aegean trade networks during the late Archaic period. Issues of this type are scarce in all collections; SNG Copenhagen 767 remains the standard reference precisely because examples rarely surface.