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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 | 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) | BMC Greek#1, GCV#3467 |
| Obverse description | A tunny fish (thunnus) depicted in high relief, oriented vertically within a plain raised border, with the head at top and the forked tail fin at bottom. Flanking the fish on either side is a beaded fillet, each strand terminating at its lower end in a stylized lotus ornament rendered with splayed petals. The composition is symmetrical and boldly executed in the archaic style, with the tunny serving as the civic emblem of Kyzikos. The flat, unadorned field emphasizes the central devices without inscriptions. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the Propontis city that became one of antiquity's most prolific electrum minting centers, produced staters over several centuries in a commercial system that functioned almost as a private monetary standard. The city's issues were so trusted across the Greek world that "Kyzikene" became a recognized unit of account in trade agreements, particularly in the Black Sea grain routes where Athenian merchants quoted prices in them alongside their own silver.
The electrum used here is natural, sourced from riverbeds rather than artificially alloyed — which means the gold-to-silver ratio varies between individual pieces, a known characteristic that ancient merchants simply accepted.