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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 500 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Electrum |
| 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 divided into four recessed compartments by raised ridges intersecting at right angles, producing alternating raised and sunken sections in a windmill or swastika-like pattern. The incuse punch impression is deep and well-defined, consistent with early Greek hammered coinage technique of the late archaic period. The surface within the compartments shows the characteristic rough, granular texture of the original electrum flan. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, a Milesian colony on the Propontis, dominated electrum coinage production in the eastern Aegean for roughly two centuries, and its staters functioned as a de facto trade currency across Greek and Persian-controlled territories alike. The city's issues are notable for their extraordinary type variety — nearly every stater carries a unique obverse device, a deliberate policy that likely served as a die-identification or anti-counterfeiting measure rather than a civic statement.
Von Fritze's classification remains the foundational reference, though his numbering has been refined by subsequent hoard evidence, particularly material from the Propontis region. The electrum alloy used at Kyzikos was more consistently gold-rich than comparable Lydian issues.