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Tetradrachm - Skymnos
| Issuer | Chios (Ionia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 394 BC - 350 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Sphinx seated to right in three-quarter view, rendered in fine archaic-to-classical transitional style; the creature displays large, detailed wings swept upward behind the body, with leonine haunches and a human female head turned to face the viewer. To the left of the sphinx stands a slender amphora or oinochoe, a characteristic emblem associated with Chios. The figures are set within a plain, slightly irregular round field with no border legend, the entire design struck in high relief typical of fine Ionian silver coinage of the fourth century BC. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Chios maintained exceptional commercial autonomy throughout the fourth century, its coinage circulating widely across Aegean trade networks largely because the island's wine exports demanded a trusted, consistent silver currency. The tetradrachm series attributed to the magistrate Skymnos falls within a period when Chios navigated carefully between Athenian, Spartan, and later Persian pressure — briefly siding with Sparta after the dissolution of the Delian League in 404 BC before re-entering Athenian alliance structures.
The Baldwin and Traité references place this among a well-documented magistrate sequence, though die linkage studies have confirmed relatively small individual emission sizes within the broader Chian series.