Stater

Phaselis occupied an unusual position among Lycian coast cities — founded by Rhodian colonists around 690 BC, it maintained commercial independence that allowed it to mint its own silver long before many neighboring poleis. The city's harbor trade, particularly in timber from the Taurus range and local pine pitch, generated the surplus wealth that made civic coinage practical. GCV 3584 places this stater within the earliest phase of Phaselian silver production, predating the Persian administrative consolidation that would later constrain mint output across the region.