Myshemihekte

Obverse description	Archaic depiction of a seal (phoke) in left profile, rendered in a schematic yet animated style characteristic of early Ionian coinage. The animal's body is shown with prominent rounded haunches and a curved neck, its head raised and mouth open, occupying the full field of the diminutive flan. The surface exhibits the characteristic granular texture of the struck electrum, with no legend or inscription present. The design is deeply and crisply struck for a coin of this early period and minuscule denomination.
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Edge	Plain
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Additional information	Phokaia was among the first Greek poleis to produce electrum coinage, and these fractional pieces — struck from locally sourced alloy with a naturally higher silver content than Lydian electrum — circulated alongside the city's better-known hekte denominations in Aegean trade networks during the late seventh century. The myshemihekte represents one-twelfth of the hekte, a denomination so small it implies a monetary system already sophisticated enough to require precise fractional reckoning. Bodenstedt's foundational study of Phokaian electrum remains the reference standard for this series, his E2 classification placing this piece among the earliest struck examples from the mint.