Tetradrachm

Rhodes was unified as a single polis in 408 BC through the synoikism of its three earlier city-states — Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos — and this tetradrachm belongs to the immediate coinage that followed. The new federal mint required a fresh monetary identity, and production began almost at once. These early issues are attributed by Ashton to a compressed window before stylistic evolution pushed the type into its next phase.

The dies show the work of an exceptionally accomplished engraver. Ashton's die study identified relatively few obverse dies for this early group, suggesting limited but intense production rather than prolonged output.