Catalog
Hemidrachm - Phayllos
| Issuer | Federal Coinage of Phokis |
|---|---|
| Year | 352 BC - 351 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, with flowing locks of hair falling over the neck and shoulder, rendered in fine archaic-transitional style. To the left of the bust, a small kithara (lyre) symbol is depicted in the field. In the lower field, the partial ethnic inscription ΦΩ appears flanking the truncation, identifying the issuing authority as the Phokian federation. The overall style reflects the high-quality die-cutting associated with Phokian federal issues of the mid-fourth century BC. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
This hemidrachm belongs to the emergency federal coinage struck by the Phokians during the Third Sacred War, when the sanctuary funds at Delphi — seized by the Phokian general Philomelos beginning in 356 BC — were being systematically melted into coin to pay mercenary armies. Phayllos, brother of the more famous Onomarchos, took command after his brother's death at the Battle of the Crocus Field in 352 BC and continued the policy of converting temple silver into military currency. His tenure was short; he died of illness in 351 BC, making coins struck under his name among the most chronologically compressed issues in the entire Phokian series.