Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Hemiobol
| Issuer | Mende (Macedon) |
|---|---|
| Year | 460 BC - 423 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemiobol (1⁄12) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Forepart of an ass advancing to the right, rendered in compact archaic style with boldly modelled musculature. The animal's head is lowered slightly, with the neck and shoulder mass dominating the flan. The legs are cropped at the lower edge of the design, consistent with the hemiobol denomination's restricted module. No legend or inscription appears in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Mende was among the most prosperous poleis on the Pallene peninsula during the fifth century, its wealth built almost entirely on wine export — Mendean wine was traded as far as Egypt and the Black Sea coast. This tiny fractional silver served real commercial function in a port economy where small transactions were constant. The hemiobol represents the bottom of a denomination ladder that reflected genuine mercantile need rather than prestige minting.
The city sided with Athens during much of the Peloponnesian War period, then briefly revolted in 423 BC under Spartan pressure — an episode recorded by Thucydides. Mende's independent coinage effectively ceased shortly after.