Phaistos, one of Crete's oldest urban centers, had already been producing coinage for well over a century by the time these staters were struck. The city's monetary output was never large — Cretan poleis generally maintained modest minting programs tied closely to mercenary pay cycles, and much of what left the island did so in soldiers' purses rather than through trade.
Kraay and Hirmer 551 places this type at the tail end of Phaistian independent coinage before the city's gradual absorption into the expanding sphere of Gortyn's regional dominance.
Phaistos, one of Crete's oldest urban centers, had already been producing coinage for well over a century by the time these staters were struck. The city's monetary output was never large — Cretan poleis generally maintained modest minting programs tied closely to mercenary pay cycles, and much of what left the island did so in soldiers' purses rather than through trade.
Kraay and Hirmer 551 places this type at the tail end of Phaistian independent coinage before the city's gradual absorption into the expanding sphere of Gortyn's regional dominance.