Stater

Kyzikos, the Propontine city that dominated electrum coinage in the ancient Greek world for over two centuries, almost certainly controlled its own electrum supply from Lydian-influenced trade networks rather than local mining. The Kyzikenoi stater circulated as an international merchant currency from the Black Sea to Egypt — accepted by weight and fineness rather than civic trust, which is why the city issued so many types rather than standardizing a single design.

Von Fritze's classification of this early group places it among the first phase of Kyzikene production, predating the later tuna-reverse formula that became the city's signature. The electrum alloy at this period was largely unregulated in gold-to-silver ratio, varying noticeably even within a single issue.