Stater

Kyzikos, strategically positioned on the Propontis, dominated electrum coinage in the Greek world for much of the sixth and fifth centuries BC — its staters circulating as a de facto international trading currency across the Black Sea and Aegean. The city's electrum was not locally mined but sourced from Lydia and refined to a remarkably consistent standard, which is precisely why merchants trusted it over competing issues.

Each emission carried a unique reverse tunny fish, Kyzikos's civic emblem, while obverse types rotated continuously — likely issued in short series tied to specific festivals or magistracies rather than continuous production runs.