Hemihekte

Kyzikos, a Milesian colony on the Propontis, built much of its commercial power on a near-monopoly in Black Sea tuna fishing — and its electrum coinage was the preferred trading currency across that entire maritime network for well over a century. The city controlled local electrum sources and maintained a reputation for consistent alloy quality that rivals from Phokaia and Lesbos rarely matched.

Von Fritze's classification of this hemihekte reflects the sorting work done on hoards recovered largely from Anatolia and the northern Aegean. The series shows no mint marks or magistrate signatures — attribution rests entirely on fabric, alloy characteristics, and the distinctive Kyzikene tunny fish on the reverse.