Hemiobol

Methymna was the second city of Lesbos, perpetually in the shadow of Mytilene yet independently minded enough to maintain its own coinage through the early Classical period. This fractional issue belongs to a moment before the island's poleis consolidated under Athenian imperial pressure following the Delian League's formation — after which local silver coinage across the Aegean contracted sharply or ceased altogether.

At 0.24 g, the coin was a working denomination, not a prestige piece. The die-cutters working at this scale were doing something technically demanding for the period.