Catalog
Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| 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 |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square divided into four recessed compartments of alternating raised and sunken sections, forming the distinctive mill-sail or windmill pattern characteristic of early Kyzikene electrum staters. The incuse is deeply struck and sharply defined, with rough granular surfaces within the recessed areas. This reverse type is entirely uninscribed and legendless, consistent with archaic Greek coinage convention. The surrounding plain field merges into the irregular flan edge. The bold geometric incuse design served both as a technical anti-counterfeiting measure and as a hallmark of the Kyzikos mint. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the Propontic city that dominated electrum coinage production from roughly the sixth through fourth centuries BC, issued staters in a bewildering variety of types — estimates run to several hundred distinct obverse designs. The city's electrum came largely from Lydian trade networks, and Kyzikene staters circulated as a de facto international currency across the Greek world, accepted well beyond any single polis's political reach.
The H&L I#9a reference places this among the earliest documented Kyzikene types. Hoards from the Black Sea region have yielded the highest concentrations of these early issues.