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Trihemiobol
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 521 BC - 478 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered, Incuse |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a winged boar advancing to the right, rendered in archaic Greek style with carefully delineated feathered wing spread prominently behind the body. The musculature and bristled coat of the boar are rendered with fine engraving, typical of early Lesbian coinage. The design occupies the full flan within an irregular, naturally shaped planchet. |
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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.