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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 450 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | H&L I#45a |
| Obverse description | Forepart of a tunny fish to the right occupying the lower field, above which appears the forepart of a kneeling figure — likely a mythological creature or animal protome — rendered in archaic relief style characteristic of early Kyzikene coinage. The surface displays the naturalistic, energetic modeling typical of late Archaic Greek die-cutting. The tunny (tuna fish), a civic emblem of Kyzikos, is rendered with detailed fin articulation along its dorsal ridge. The composition fills the irregular flan with bold, confident workmanship. |
|---|---|
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| Mint | Kyzikos (Cyzicus), Mysia |
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| Additional information |
Kyzikos, a Milesian colony on the Propontis, dominated electrum coinage in the eastern Aegean for much of the fifth and sixth centuries BC. The city's staters circulated internationally as a trusted trade currency across the Greek world and into Persia — a function enabled by their remarkably consistent weight standard and the natural electrum sourced from regional deposits. Hoards from as far as the Black Sea littoral and the Levant confirm their reach.
The H&L I#45a classification places this piece within Head and Leake's foundational typological sequence, itself assembled from hoard evidence before systematic die studies were possible.