Lesbos, Mytilene. Electrum Hekte (2.54 g), ca. 377-326 BC. Wreathed head of Dionysos right. Reverse: Head of satyr facing within linear square. Bodenstedt 90; HGC 6, 1016. Some minor marks here and there. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP
Although electrum had been popular for the first coinages of western Asia Minor, it was quickly superseded in most places by parted gold and silver coinages already in the sixth century BC. However, a few cities, like Mytilene, Phokaia, and Kyzikos continued to strike electrum into the fourth century BC, often in concert, as a means of providing an international trade coinage for the Black Sea region. The somewhat outmoded alloy remained in demand by the grain-producers and mercenaries of the north long after it fell out of common use in mainland Greece and Asia Minor.