Tetradrachm

Mende, a colony of Eretria on the Chalcidice peninsula, was among the most prolific wine exporters in the Aegean world, and its coinage circulated widely as a direct consequence of that trade. The dating of this issue to the 420s BC places it squarely within the period of Athenian military pressure on the Chalcidice — Mende briefly defected to Brasidas in 423 BC before being retaken by Nicias, an event that almost certainly disrupted civic minting.

The Jameson and Gulbenkian references are among the most authoritative die-study anchors for this series, and the convergence of five major references on a single type signals a well-documented specimen rather than a peripheral variety.