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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 600 BC - 550 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 13.49 g |
| 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 | Head of a tunny fish facing left rendered in archaic relief, with a clearly delineated circular eye and striated body markings along the lower register; the fish's tail projects upward above the head. The design is executed in the bold, stylized manner characteristic of early Kyzikene coinage, occupying the full field of the irregularly shaped flan. No legend or inscription is present. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Incuse square punch of irregular rectangular form, deeply impressed into the flan by the hammering technique typical of early archaic Greek coinage. The interior of the incuse is divided by a raised vertical ridge, creating two recessed compartments. The surface is uneven and shows no figural design or inscription, consistent with the primitive reverse treatment of Kyzikene staters of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos, a Milesian colony on the Propontis, became one of the ancient world's most prolific producers of electrum coinage, and its staters circulated far beyond the Black Sea trade zone into which the city was commercially embedded. The Kyzikene stater functioned effectively as an international reserve currency across the Greek world for roughly two centuries — a remarkable run for any ancient monetary type.
The billon composition here, rather than the higher-electrum alloy of later Kyzikene issues, places this among the earlier production, when natural pale gold from regional river sources had not yet been standardized against a controlled gold-silver ratio.