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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Tenedos |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 70 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large double-headed axe (labrys) displayed upright at center, its broad double blades filling the field, with a small pellet at the junction of the blades; this emblem is the principal civic symbol of Tenedos. To the lower left of the handle appears a figure of a standing deity or hero and a bunch of grapes, while to the lower right a right hand (dextrarum iunctio or civic symbol) is visible. The entire design is enclosed within a broad olive wreath border. The Greek ethnic legend ΤΕΝΕΔΙΩΝ arcs above the axe across the upper field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Tenedos, the small Aegean island positioned at the mouth of the Hellespont, derived its monetary importance almost entirely from geography — every ship transiting between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea passed within sight of it. The tetradrachms struck in this late period belong to a phase when the island was attempting to assert commercial relevance against increasingly dominant Rhodian and Athenian monetary influence in the region.
Callataÿ's classification of this type places it among the latest substantial silver issues from Tenedos, a mint whose output was never prolific. The 100–70 BC window corresponds with significant Roman reorganization of Aegean trade routes following the Third Mithridatic War's early pressures — which likely curtailed further production.