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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 400 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 | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered, Incuse |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| 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, deeply punched and divided into four recessed compartments by a raised cross, with alternating smooth and granular surfaces within the quarters. The incuse design is characteristic of early Greek electrum coinage struck by the hammered method, where the reverse punch was driven into the flan to secure the metal during striking. The square is boldly impressed and well-centred on the irregular flan, as visible on this specimen. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos was the dominant source of electrum coinage in the Greek world during the fifth century, and its staters functioned as a de facto international trade currency across the Black Sea and Aegean networks — accepted well beyond any single polis's political reach. The city controlled access to the Propontis, and that geographic leverage underwrote the coinage's credibility far more than any state guarantee could.
Each Kyzikene stater was struck on a new die, which is why the type series runs to hundreds of distinct obverse designs. No two issues are identical.