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Tritetartemorion
| Issuer | Methymna |
|---|---|
| Year | 500 BC - 460 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.26 g |
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| Obverse description | Facing head of a satyr rendered in archaic style, depicted full-face with broad, flat features, wide-set eyes shown in relief, and a prominent rounded nose. The hair or fur of the satyr frames the face with radiating strokes, characteristic of the early Archaic die-cutting tradition of Lesbos. The design is bold and compact, filling the flan with no surrounding legend or border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Methymna was the second city of Lesbos and a persistent rival to Mytilene, maintaining its own independent coinage even as neighboring poleis consolidated. This fractional denomination — a three-quarter obol — reflects the granular commercial needs of an Aegean port economy where small silver fractions did genuine transactional work rather than serving ceremonial or tributary functions.
At 0.26 g, surviving examples were always vulnerable to loss and are rarely encountered outside major institutional holdings. The SNG Copenhagen specimen remains the standard reference.