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Hemiobol
| Issuer | Federal Coinage of Phokis |
|---|---|
| Year | 485 BC - 480 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a bull's head facing right, rendered in fine archaic style with carefully engraved parallel striations delineating the musculature of the neck and muzzle. The horns are prominently modeled in high relief, curving upward with naturalistic force. The eye is rendered as a small incuse pellet. The design occupies the full flan within a plain field, consistent with early Phokian federal coinage typology. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Archaic Attic-style helmet shown in profile facing right, depicted in incuse square with a slightly recessed field typical of early Greek hammered coinage. The helmet features a projecting cheekpiece and a rounded skullcap, rendered with restrained but confident engraving. The design is centrally placed within the incuse, with minimal surrounding field. No inscription or legend is present, consistent with the anonymous federal issues of Phokis in the early fifth century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Phokis struck federal coinage in the years immediately before and during the Persian invasions, making this issue contemporary with Thermopylae — a battle fought on Phokian soil after the Phokians themselves had refused to medahize. Their resistance was not universal: the oracle at Delphi, situated in Phokis, had given famously ambiguous counsel to the Greeks, and the sanctuary's enormous treasury made it a primary Persian target in 480 BC.
The BCD reference places this among the earliest federal coinage issues from the region, before the Persian sack disrupted production entirely.