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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 450 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Electrum Stater (1) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 struck into the flan, dividing the reverse into four recessed triangular compartments of roughly equal size, characteristic of the archaic punch technique employed at Kyzikos. The surfaces within the incuse sections are irregular and show the typical granular texture resulting from the hammer blow of the reverse punch. No inscription, symbol, or secondary type is present. The overall appearance is consistent with early fifth-century electrum coinage of the Propontis region. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos (Propontis, Mysia) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the Propontine city that dominated electrum coinage throughout the archaic and classical periods, struck these staters in a natural alloy sourced almost certainly from Lydian or Pontic river deposits rather than refined stock. The city's output was so trusted across the Greek world that Kyzikene staters functioned as an international trading currency well beyond the Black Sea region, accepted from Athens to the Persian satrapal courts. Every issue bears a tunny fish as a civic badge — not described here — but that consistency across hundreds of distinct types is itself a monetary statement: type changed, trust did not.
The electrum composition varies piece to piece. Ancient assayers knew it; so should modern buyers.