Thasos, a Thracian island colony with substantial silver mines on the mainland at Scapte Hyle, was among the wealthiest mints in the northern Aegean during the late fifth century. This hemiobol was struck during the period of Athenian defeat in Sicily and the subsequent collapse of Athenian naval dominance — years in which Thasian commercial independence fluctuated sharply with the fortunes of whichever power controlled the straits.
At 0.23g, these fractional pieces served dock and market transactions where a full obol was too large. The SNG Copenhagen specimen remains the principal die reference for the type.
Thasos, a Thracian island colony with substantial silver mines on the mainland at Scapte Hyle, was among the wealthiest mints in the northern Aegean during the late fifth century. This hemiobol was struck during the period of Athenian defeat in Sicily and the subsequent collapse of Athenian naval dominance — years in which Thasian commercial independence fluctuated sharply with the fortunes of whichever power controlled the straits.
At 0.23g, these fractional pieces served dock and market transactions where a full obol was too large. The SNG Copenhagen specimen remains the principal die reference for the type.