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Tetartemorion
| Issuer | Uncertain Greek city |
|---|---|
| Year | 450 BC - 400 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a lion advancing to the left, rendered in archaic Greek style with open jaws and muscular body clearly delineated. The mane is indicated by incised striae along the neck and upper back. The animal's forepaws are extended forward in a dynamic, springing posture. The flan is small and irregularly shaped, consistent with the diminutive denomination, with the design occupying the full available field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Female head in profile to the right, hair bound in a sphendone (a cloth head-covering or fillet tied at the back), with individually rendered curls or locks framing the face. A pendant earring is visible at the ear, indicative of a divine or aristocratic female personage, possibly a local goddess or nymph. The facial features are modeled in the archaic to early classical style, with a straight profile and almond-shaped eye. The field is otherwise plain, with no legend or additional devices, typical of small fractional silver coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
At roughly 0.15 g, the tetartemorion was one-quarter of an obol — itself already the smallest fractional unit in daily Greek commerce. Coins at this weight were struck across dozens of Aegean and Ionian cities simultaneously, making unattributed examples essentially impossible to pin to a single mint without a diagnostic type. The denomination served real economic functions in a world where a day's wage might buy only a handful of obols.