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Hemihekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 410 BC - 330 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Standing female figure of Aphrodite, rendered in three-quarter view to the left, leaning with her right arm upon a column positioned to her right; to the left of the column stands the winged infant Eros, facing half-right. In the lower field, a tunny fish is depicted swimming to the left, serving as the characteristic Kyzikene mint symbol. The style is consistent with the refined late Classical engraving tradition of the Kyzikos mint. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (410 BC - 330 BC) |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos was the dominant source of electrum coinage in the Greek world for roughly two centuries, its issues so trusted in Black Sea trade networks that they circulated far outside Mysia with virtually no local competition. The city's monopoly rested partly on access to naturally occurring electrum from the Pactolus River region and partly on a deliberate civic policy of maintaining consistent alloy standards — something most mints could not or would not guarantee.
The hemihekte, one-twelfth of a stater, was the smallest practical denomination in this series. Von Fritze's catalogue remains the essential reference, though the cf. notation here signals the type does not match any recorded die exactly.