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Stater
| Issuer | Uncertain Lesbos city |
|---|---|
| Year | 575 BC - 525 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing lion's head rendered in archaic style, depicted in high relief at center of the broadly convex flan. The mane is indicated by deeply incised radiating lines fanning outward from the face, with prominent facial features including open jaws and bold, stylized brow. The design is characteristic of the early electrum and billon coinage of the Lesbian cities, executed with the bold, schematic vigour typical of the Archaic period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | ND (575 BC - 525 BC) |
| Additional information |
Lesbos operated an unusual monetary arrangement in the archaic period: several cities on the island — Mytilene, Methymna, and others — shared a common coinage standard rather than competing with separate civic issues, which is why attribution to any single polis remains impossible for much of this series. The billon alloy itself is a deliberate choice, not debasement; Lesbian mints consistently used electrum-adjacent alloys well into the period when mainland Greeks had largely committed to pure silver.