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Stater
| Issuer | Kyzikos |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 16.05 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Quadripartite incuse square of skewed windmill (swastika) pattern, deeply impressed into the flan and divided into four triangular compartments by raised diagonal ridges meeting at the centre. Each compartment exhibits irregular granular texture resulting from the striking process. The deeply sunk incuse technique, standard for early Greek electrum coinage of the Kyzikene series, served both as a functional anti-counterfeiting measure and as a means of ensuring even metal distribution across the flan. No legend or additional device is present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Kyzikos (Mysia) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kyzikos, the Propontine city that dominated electrum coinage from roughly the sixth through fourth centuries BC, produced staters in a quantity and consistency unmatched by any other Greek mint of the period. The city's issues were accepted as a de facto international currency across the Black Sea and Aegean trading networks, which is precisely why so many survive — they circulated widely but were also hoarded deliberately as stores of value.
The electrum used by Kyzikene authorities was notably consistent in fineness, a quality that sustained the coinage's commercial credibility for generations. The tuna fish, a civic emblem tied to the city's fishing economy, appears as an authenticating device on virtually the entire series — its presence on this piece confirming the issue within the Haeberlin and Leu classification framework.