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Stater
| Issuer | Teos |
|---|---|
| Year | 540 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Silver Stater (2) |
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| 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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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A griffin depicted in profile, seated to right atop an ornamental pedestal, its mouth open in a snarling pose and its left forepaw raised. To the right of the main device, the forepart of Pegasus is shown in profile facing right, serving as a subsidiary type. The composition is rendered in bold archaic relief, characteristic of early Ionian coinage from the late sixth to early fifth century BC. The field is plain, with no inscriptions or additional devices. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A quadripartite incuse square formed by two intersecting raised ridges dividing the depressed surface into four recessed compartments of roughly equal size, consistent with early archaic hammered coinage technique. The four quadrants display irregular, slightly rough surfaces typical of the punch-struck incuse method employed at Ionian mints during the sixth and early fifth centuries BC. No inscriptions or subsidiary devices are present within the incuse field. |
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| Additional information |
Teos, the Ionian Greek city on the Aegean coast of Anatolia, began striking silver coinage during a period of acute political instability — first under Lydian domination, then under Persian rule following Cyrus's conquest of 546 BC. The city's famous response to Persian pressure came around 540 BC, when a significant portion of the population abandoned Teos entirely and emigrated to Abdera in Thrace rather than submit to Persian taxation. Coinage struck in this window thus spans both the mass emigration and the eventual Teian return, making precise attribution within the series genuinely difficult.
Balcer's die study remains the primary reference for sequencing these issues chronologically.