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Hemihekte
| Issuer | Uncertain Ionian city |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 401 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A winged siren or harpy rendered in high relief occupies the entire obverse field, depicted in left-facing profile with the body of a rooster or cockerel below and a human female head above, the wings spread dramatically upward and to the left. The creature stands on a flat ground line, its avian legs and fan-shaped tail feathers rendered with fine engraved detail characteristic of Archaic Ionian craftsmanship. The human head displays an archaic visage with a rounded cap or helmet, the neck and torso emerging naturalistically from the bird body. The smooth electrum field surrounding the figure shows the characteristic granular texture of the hammered flan. No legend or inscription is present, consistent with early Ionian electrum fractional coinage of the late Archaic period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (500 BC - 401 BC) |
| Additional information |
Fractional electrum of this scale — one-twelfth of a stater — circulated primarily as a wage and trade token in the eastern Aegean economy, where small denominations were essential for daily transactions that full staters could not practically serve. The natural alloy of gold and silver in early Ionian electrum varied significantly from city to city, and without a confirmed issuing authority, the precise gold-to-silver ratio here offers one of the few diagnostic clues to provenance. Rosen 369 places this piece among the unattributed Ionian material, a classification that reflects genuine scholarly uncertainty rather than insufficient effort.