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Hemihekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 450 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemihekte (1⁄12) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A quadripartite incuse square dominates the reverse field, formed by four recessed rectangular compartments divided by raised diagonal ridges meeting at the centre, creating an alternating raised-and-sunken windmill-like pattern. This deeply impressed geometric punch is characteristic of early Greek electrum coinage struck by the anvil-punch technique. The surface of each compartment bears irregular granular texture from the hammering process. No legend or subsidiary devices are present. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos was the dominant source of electrum coinage in the Greek world during the fifth century BC, producing a vast series of staters and fractions that circulated far beyond the Propontis as a trusted trade currency. The city's electrum was alloyed to a consistent standard, which gave Kyzikenian issues a commercial reliability that most civic coinages lacked. The hemihekte — one-twelfth of a stater — served the smallest high-value transactions in that system.
Von Fritze's corpus remains the authoritative reference, though the "cf." qualification here signals the type doesn't map cleanly onto a recorded die pairing.