Kyzikos, the Propontic city on the southern shore of the Marmara, issued electrum staters continuously from roughly the sixth century into the fourth — a monetary output so reliable that Kyzkene staters became the dominant trade currency across the Black Sea and Aegean commercial networks, accepted far beyond any single polis's political reach. The city's electrum was alloyed to a consistent standard, and ancient sources suggest Kyzikene staters functioned almost as an international reserve currency in their time.
Von Fritze's die study remains the foundational reference for the series. The specific type catalogued under his no. 163 dates to the earlier half of the fifth century, a period when the city was nominally under Persian suzerainty following Darius's campaigns in the region.
Kyzikos, the Propontic city on the southern shore of the Marmara, issued electrum staters continuously from roughly the sixth century into the fourth — a monetary output so reliable that Kyzkene staters became the dominant trade currency across the Black Sea and Aegean commercial networks, accepted far beyond any single polis's political reach. The city's electrum was alloyed to a consistent standard, and ancient sources suggest Kyzikene staters functioned almost as an international reserve currency in their time.
Von Fritze's die study remains the foundational reference for the series. The specific type catalogued under his no. 163 dates to the earlier half of the fifth century, a period when the city was nominally under Persian suzerainty following Darius's campaigns in the region.