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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Tenedos |
|---|---|
| Year | 375 BC - 350 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 |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | A labrys (double-headed axe) displayed upright at center, its broad double blades prominently rendered against a flat field within a linear border. The ethnic legend ΤΕΝΕΔΙΩΝ is distributed around the symbol in four segments — ΤΕ above the upper blade, ΝΕ to its right, Ο to the lower left, and Δ to the lower right — framing the design. To the lower left of the axe handle hangs a pendant bunch of grapes, and to the lower right rests a lyre with a tortoiseshell resonator, both rendered in fine relief. These symbols — the labrys, grapes, and lyre — are characteristic civic and religious emblems of Tenedos, referencing local cult and the mythological heritage of the island. |
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| Additional information |
Tenedos, the small island at the mouth of the Hellespont, derived its economic weight almost entirely from its position controlling traffic into the straits — every vessel bound for the Black Sea passed within sight of it. The island's coinage, including this tetradrachm, reflects a monetized toll economy rather than a manufacturing or agricultural one. Athens periodically contested Tenedian autonomy throughout the fourth century, and the Second Athenian League created sustained political pressure on Aegean islanders to align or resist.
The double-facing head type associated with Tenedos is one of the more distinctive die configurations in the Aegean series, and specimens vary considerably in die alignment.