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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 550 BC - 450 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Electrum Stater (1) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| 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 equal recessed compartments by two perpendicular raised ridges meeting at the center, forming a mill-sail or windmill pattern typical of early Greek electrum coinage. Two opposing quarters are more deeply recessed than the other two, giving the incuse a characteristic alternating relief. The surface shows the irregular flan edges consistent with hammered electrum production of the archaic period. |
| 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, the Propontine city whose electrum staters circulated as the dominant international trade currency of the fifth century BC, sourced its metal from the alluvial deposits of the Pactolus river region. The city held no fixed type for long — Kyzikene staters rotate through hundreds of obverse designs across the series, which is why any two specimens rarely match. This practice was almost certainly deliberate, functioning as a primitive anti-counterfeiting measure in a currency that crossed hands from the Black Sea grain trade to Athenian mercenary payrolls.
The tuna on the reverse is the one constant across the entire series, the civic badge of a city whose economy ran on the fish migrations through the Propontis.