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Tetartemorion
| Issuer | Phokaia |
|---|---|
| Year | 530 BC - 510 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | An eagle's head depicted in profile facing right, rendered in archaic Greek style with bold, compact relief. The beak is slightly open and the eye is prominent, characteristic of the fine miniature engraving associated with Phokaian coinage of the late 6th century BC. The design occupies the majority of the small flan, with the surrounding field left plain. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Phokaia was among the most aggressive colonizers in the ancient Greek world, with settlements stretching from the Black Sea to Massalia — modern Marseille — and the city's merchants are credited with introducing coinage to several western Mediterranean regions. This fractional silver, struck at roughly one-quarter of a tetartemorion's already minuscule obol, represents the smallest practical unit of exchange in a trading economy that ran on precision weight rather than face value.
The Phokaian mint is notable for its electrum coinage, which preceded and overlapped this silver series. The shift toward pure silver fractions in this period likely reflects the demands of smaller retail transactions that electrum denominations couldn't efficiently serve.