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Hemiobol
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 525 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.42 g |
| 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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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided into four recessed compartments by raised ridges meeting at the center, a hallmark of early Archaic Greek coinage technique. The four quarters display irregular surface textures resulting from the punch strike, with no figurative design or inscription present. The incuse is deeply impressed into the silver planchet, typical of the Phokaian hemiobol denomination of this period. |
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| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (525 BC - 500 BC) |
| Additional information |
Phokaia's silver fractions from this period carry weight well beyond their tiny mass. The city was one of the most ambitious Greek colonizers of the archaic period — its merchants had established Massalia (modern Marseille) by around 600 BC and pushed trade routes deep into Iberia and the Black Sea. That commercial reach made small-denomination silver essential for everyday market transactions across a far-flung network of trading posts. The hemiobol was the working coin of port commerce, not ceremony.
Phokaia fell to the Persians under Harpagos around 545 BC, after which a significant portion of the population famously chose exile over submission, abandoning the city entirely. Coinage resumed under Persian suzerainty, and pieces attributable to the final decades of the sixth century reflect a mint operating under occupation.