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Hemihekte
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 600 BC - 550 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Electrum Stater (600-330BC) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A plain incuse square punch of irregular quadripartite form, deeply impressed into the flan, dividing the surface into raised and recessed sections. This rough mill-mark reverse is entirely without figural or epigraphic content and is typical of the earliest electrum coinage of Kyzikos, where the reverse served solely as a mechanical countermark to authenticate the blank. The surface shows the characteristic uneven texture produced by the primitive punching technique of the archaic period. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos, positioned on the southern shore of the Propontis, became one of the ancient world's most prolific producers of electrum coinage — its issues circulating far beyond regional trade into the Black Sea and Aegean networks. The hemihekte represents the smallest practical denomination in that system, a sixth of the hekte, designed for transactions that full staters and their halves couldn't accommodate.
The natural electrum sourced from Lydian rivers varied in gold-to-silver ratio, and Kyzikene moneyers developed consistent alloying practices to stabilize weight and fineness across denominations. Von Fritze's classification of this type remains the foundational reference, assembled largely from hoards recovered in northwestern Anatolia.