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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Akanthos |
|---|---|
| Year | 490 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered, Incuse |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square of mill-sail or swastika pattern, divided into four recessed compartments of alternating depth by raised diagonal ridges meeting at the center; a characteristic early fifth-century BC Macedonian minting technique visible in the image as deeply impressed, irregularly surfaced recesses against a plain silver field. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (-490) |
| Additional information |
Akanthos, a Macedonian coastal colony founded by Andrians, sat astride one of the most strategically critical stretches of the northern Aegean — close enough to the Athos peninsula that Xerxes chose to canal through it in 483 BC rather than risk his fleet rounding the headland again. The city's silver came from mines in the Thracian interior, and its tetradrachms circulated widely as trade currency precisely because that bullion source was reliable and the weight standard trusted by merchants moving between the Aegean and the Black Sea routes.