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Hemihekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 600 BC - 550 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| 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 | Round (irregular) |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A tunny fish (Thunnus thynnus) depicted in upward-facing profile at center, serving as the civic badge of Kyzikos, flanked symmetrically on either side by a tunny head in profile facing outward. The design is rendered in low relief with characteristic archaic incised detail on the fish bodies. The field is plain, and the composition occupies the full flan in the compact, bold style typical of early Kyzikene electrum coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos was the dominant electrum-producing mint of the archaic Greek world, and its coinage circulated far beyond the Propontis — hoards containing Kyzikenoi have been found across the Black Sea littoral, the Levant, and Egypt. The city controlled access to critical tuna migration routes through the straits, and its monetary output appears to have been tied directly to that commercial power rather than to any civic or political mandate in the conventional sense.
The hemiekte represents one-twelfth of the full stater. At this fractional denomination, the die-cutting demands were extreme for the period.