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Hemidrachm Tegea
| Issuer | Arcadian League |
|---|---|
| Year | 465 BC - 460 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemidrachm (1/2) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Zeus Lykaios seated to the left, rendered in early Classical style, holding an upright scepter in his hand while an eagle extends its wings in flight to the left from his outstretched arm. The figure is depicted with careful attention to drapery and divine authority, characteristic of Arcadian federal coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Head of Kallisto facing three-quarters to the right, her hair elaborately bound with a tainia rendered in fine parallel strands, set within a shallow incuse square. The portrait is executed in the early Classical style, displaying finely modeled facial features, a delicate neckline, and naturalistic treatment of the hair. The ethnic legend ΑΡΚΑΔΙΚΟΝ is distributed in the field around the portrait within the incuse square. |
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| Additional information |
The Arcadian League's coinage of this period is among the earliest federal Greek issues — a deliberate political statement by a coalition of inland Poleis attempting to consolidate against Spartan pressure following the helot revolt of 464 BC. Tegea, despite its proximity to Sparta and long history of ambivalence toward Arcadian unity, participated in this federal mint arrangement. The hemidrachm denomination served interregional transactions where the full drachm was impractical.
BCD 1709 is among the better-documented die links for the Tegean attribution within this series.