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Tritartemorion
| Issuer | Massalia |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 475 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Forepart of a lion facing left, depicted in the act of devouring prey, rendered in a bold archaic style characteristic of early Massalian coinage. The mane is indicated by radiating strokes fanning around the head and neck, with the forepaws extended downward gripping the prey. The design fills the irregular flan with vigorous, deeply struck relief. No legend or inscription is present in the field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Deeply recessed incuse square of rough, unworked surface, divided by a raised ridge into two unequal compartments, characteristic of the primitive punch technique employed at Massalia in this early archaic period. The incuse is the result of the tail punch used during striking and bears no decorative or epigraphic element. The surrounding field shows the granular texture of the hammered flan. |
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| Additional information |
Massalia — modern Marseille — was founded around 600 BC by Phocaean Greeks and became the dominant Greek commercial presence in the western Mediterranean. These tiny fractions circulated in a port economy built on wine, tin, and overland trade routes reaching deep into Celtic Gaul. The tritartemorion, worth three-quarters of an obol, was among the smallest practical denominations struck anywhere in the Greek world.
Massalian silver of this period shows strong stylistic continuity with Phocaean prototypes, a conservatism almost certainly deliberate — maintaining visual trust with trading partners who recognized the types.