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Tritartemorion
| Issuer | Mende |
|---|---|
| Year | 480 BC - 460 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tritartemorion (1/8) |
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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 | Forepart of an ass walking to the right, rendered in archaic Greek style with fine detail. The animal's head is lowered slightly, with a prominent ear and mane indicated. A dotted border runs along the upper edge of the flan. The design is set within the slightly irregular, naturally shaped flan characteristic of early Macedonian issues. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Incuse square divided into four triangular compartments by a raised cruciform pattern, forming a four-pointed windmill or star-like design within the sunken punch. The incuse is deeply impressed, with alternating raised and recessed triangles creating a bold geometric composition typical of early Greek coinage. The flan edges are irregular, consistent with hand-struck archaic production. |
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| Additional information |
Mende, a Chalkidian colony on the western prong of the Pallene peninsula, was among the more prolific wine exporters in the northern Aegean — a trade that underwrote its mint output and explains the persistence of its coinage through the fifth century. The tritartemorion, worth three-quarters of an obol, filled a genuine gap in small-denomination commerce, the kind of coin that settled a dockside transaction or a single measure of grain.
SNG ANS 316 places this piece within a well-documented sequence, though the fractional silver of Mende remains underrepresented in major collections relative to its larger denominations.