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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | 600 BC - 550 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 | A kneeling nude male figure, rendered in archaic Greek style, occupies the central field in a dynamic pose with one knee to the ground and arms outstretched. The figure is depicted in high relief against a plain field, characteristic of early Kyzikene electrum coinage. A small tunny fish, the civic emblem of Kyzikos, appears in the lower right field beneath the figure, serving as an identifying symbol of the mint. The design is executed with bold, simplified musculature typical of the late seventh to early sixth century BC archaic style. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a quadripartite incuse square divided into four rectangular compartments by raised ridges, forming a windmill or pinwheel pattern with alternating raised and recessed sections. This deeply impressed incuse punch is characteristic of early Greek coinage technique, employed to distribute the metal evenly during striking. The surface of the incuse exhibits the irregular, striated texture resulting from the hand-hammered production method. No legend or additional device is present, consistent with the earliest issues of the Kyzikene electrum series. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, positioned on the southern shore of the Propontis, became one of the ancient world's most prolific issuers of electrum coinage — its staters circulating far beyond the immediate region as a trusted trade currency throughout the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean for well over two centuries. The natural electrum used by Kyzikene moneyers contained a gold-silver alloy occurring without fixed ratios, meaning individual staters from this period vary measurably in fineness, a fact that ancient merchants apparently accepted without complaint.
Von Fritze's cataloguing of the series remains the foundational reference precisely because the typological sequence is so extensive and chronologically dense.