Stater

Lesbos operated an unusual monetary arrangement in the archaic period: several cities on the island — almost certainly including Mytilene, Methymna, and smaller poleis — struck electrum and billon coinage on a shared standard, making precise attribution to a single issuing city effectively impossible without additional die or provenance evidence. The billon fabric itself reflects a deliberate choice, substituting base-metal alloy for the electrum used in the island's better-known issues, likely to stretch bullion supplies during a period of rising Aegean trade competition.