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Trihemiobol
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Trihemiobol (1/4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Incuse square containing the depiction of a Corinthian helmet facing, set within a deeply recessed quadratum incusum. The helmet is shown with cheek-guards and neck-guard clearly articulated, the crest rendered in low relief against the sunken field. The incuse technique is characteristic of early archaic Greek coinage of the Aegean region. |
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| Mintage | ND (521 BC - 478 BC) |
| Additional information |
Mytilene, the dominant polis of Lesbos, operated one of the Aegean's most active mints during the late Archaic period, issuing a coherent series of electrum and silver fractions that served the commercial traffic passing through the straits between the island and the Anatolian coast. The trihemiobol sits at the lower end of that fractional silver series, almost certainly produced to facilitate small-denomination exchange in markets and ports rather than tribute or state payment.
The dating bracket places this coin across the Ionian Revolt and its brutal suppression by Persia in 494 BC — a period during which Mytilene's political and commercial relationships shifted considerably.