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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 333 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Female figure depicted in three-quarter view to left, rendered in high relief in the refined archaic-to-classical style characteristic of Kyzikene coinage. The figure wears a helmet and is draped from the waist, with the upper body bare; she raises her right arm, possibly holding a small object, while her left arm extends forward. A tunny fish, the civic emblem of Kyzikos, appears in the lower field, serving as the standard reverse type badge on issues of this mint. The flan is characteristically irregular and slightly convex, consistent with the hammered electrum staters of this series. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (450 BC - 333 BC) |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos dominated electrum coinage production in the Aegean for roughly two centuries, and the city's staters functioned as a de facto international trade currency across Greek, Persian, and Thracian markets simultaneously. The electrum alloy used was not standardized — Kyzikene staters vary measurably in gold-to-silver ratio across the series, suggesting the mint drew on multiple metal sources rather than maintaining a fixed recipe.
The tuna fish incorporated into virtually every reverse type was not decorative convention but a civic identifier, the tunny being central to Kyzikos's economy through Black Sea fishing rights. Production ceased abruptly after Alexander's conquest of the Propontis region in 334–333 BC rendered the city's monetary independence obsolete.