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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Mende |
|---|---|
| Year | 425 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A grape vine bearing four pendant clusters of grapes fills the central field, presented as the primary emblem of Dionysos and the city's viticultural identity. The design is set upon a raised square surrounded by a deep incuse square, a hallmark of early northern Greek coinage technique. The ethnic legend ΜΕΝΔΑΙΟΝ is distributed in four segments around the vine within the incuse square, identifying the issuing city of Mende in Chalcidice. The incuse treatment creates a strong visual contrast between the raised vine motif and the recessed border, reflecting the archaic-to-classical transitional striking tradition of the Macedonian region. |
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| Mint | Mende, Chalcidice |
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| Additional information |
Mende, a Chalcidian colony on the western prong of the Chalkidike peninsula, was one of the ancient world's most significant wine exporters, and the city's coinage was effectively a commercial instrument circulating through Aegean trade networks where Mendean wine amphoras were already a recognized commodity. The tetradrachm series from this period reflects the city at its economic peak, before Macedonian pressure in the fourth century began eroding the independence of the Chalkidian poleis.
The Jameson collection specimen — Jameson 1960 — is among the better-documented die-linked examples and has served as a reference point for attributing related issues in the series.