Stater

Lampsakos held a privileged position on the eastern shore of the Hellespont, controlling one of the most strategically valuable straits in the ancient world. The city's gold staters — struck from electrum's purer cousin rather than the debased alloys used by neighbors — circulated widely across the Aegean trade networks during a period when Persian satrapies and Greek poleis competed aggressively for commercial dominance. The Peace of Antalcidas in 387 BC, which effectively handed the Ionian cities back to Persia, brackets the beginning of this series: Lampsakos minted under the shadow of Achaemenid authority while maintaining remarkable civic autonomy in its coinage.

Production ceased abruptly with Alexander's crossing into Asia Minor in 334 BC.