Hemistater

The electrum and billon coinages of archaic Lesbos present one of the more stubborn attribution problems in Greek numismatics. Multiple cities on the island — Mytilene, Methymna, and several lesser settlements — operated mints in this period, and the absence of ethnic inscriptions on these early issues makes firm assignment nearly impossible. The "uncertain Lesbos" designation in BMC reflects that impasse honestly rather than forcing a false attribution.

Billon use here is notable: most Lesbian civic issues of this period favored higher-electrum alloys, so a visibly debased piece may reflect local silver shortages or a deliberate monetary policy shift sometime in the early fifth century.