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Hemidrachm Tegea
| Issuer | Arcadian League |
|---|---|
| Year | 460 BC - 450 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Williams, Confederate #176, BMC Greek #1, De Luynes #2311 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Facing head of Kallisto, the nymph of Arcadian myth and companion of Artemis, rendered frontally in the severe style with large, almond-shaped eyes and a straight nose. The hair is elaborately dressed with a prominent row of spherical ornaments or pearls across the brow, and gathered into a bun at the right side of the head. The bust is set within a shallow incuse square, a hallmark of early Arcadian federal coinage. A necklace is visible at the base of the neck, and the overall carving displays the bold, frontal portraiture characteristic of the Arcadian League's early emission at Tegea. |
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| Mint | Tegea |
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| Additional information |
The Arcadian League coinage of this period represents one of the earliest federal monetary unions in the Greek world — a deliberate political act by a loose confederation of poleis asserting collective identity against Spartan dominance following the helot revolt of 464 BC. Tegea, as a principal city within the League, played a central role in that coalition.
The Williams Confederate reference places this hemidrachm among the earliest confirmed League issues, a classification supported by the De Luynes specimen pedigree, one of the most rigorously documented 19th-century collections of Greek coinage.