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Hemiobol
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Obol (1⁄12) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Unworked incuse square of rough, irregular surface, characteristic of archaic Greek hammered coinage of the late sixth and early fifth centuries BC. The incuse depression occupies the majority of the reverse field and shows no further decoration, inscription, or subsidiary device, reflecting the primitive punching technique employed at this early period. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Phokaia (Ionia) |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia's electrum coinage is well-documented as among the earliest struck coinage in the Greek world, but the city's fractional silver issues from this period occupy a murkier niche — produced alongside, and sometimes in competition with, electrum fractions whose variable gold content made consistent valuation difficult. The hemiobol's extreme smallness was a practical consequence of silver's higher intrinsic value relative to the debased electrum in circulation, requiring the mint to produce pieces barely larger than a grain of wheat to hit the correct tariff.
Phokaia itself was evacuated en masse around 545 BC when the Persians besieged it under Harpagos — the population famously fleeing by sea rather than submitting. Coinage production resumed under Persian tolerance after resettlement, making the precise attribution of issues within this date range genuinely contested among specialists.