Phocaea.
Hecte circa 521-478, EL 2.61 g. Diademed female head l.; behind, seal downwards. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. SNG von Aulock 7943 (this obverse die). SNG Kayahn 518. SNG Spencer-Churchill 187 (this obverse die). Bodenstedt 31.
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, among the finest specimens known.
A superb portrait of fine style struck in high relief and good extremely fine

Ex Roma Numismatics sale XIII, 2017, 238.

Graded AU* Strike 5/5 Surface 4/5, Fine style, NCG certification number 6558857-014

Like Cyzicus in Mysia, the city of Phocaea in Aeolis continued to strike an electrum coinage of hekta fractions long after electrum ceased to be used for coins by most cities of Greece and Asia Minor. In the fifth and fourth centuries BC this production was often coordinated with electrum issues struck at Mytilene, which seems to have provided fractions for use in the Black Sea trade while Cyzicus primarily provided staters. The present hekte features a beautifully executed and preserved female head with a braided hairstyle and wearing a stephane, beaded necklace and rosette earring. The wonderful Archaic style bears comparison with the so-called Kore statues that were widely popular in the Archaic period. Kore statues were usually erected as votive offerings in temple sanctuaries or served as grave markers and offerings to the dead. It is disputed whether the Kore statues were intended to represent specific deities or individuals or whether they represented an Archaic ideal of female beauty. Considering the superb quality of the female head on this coin, one could easily imagine it to serve as a benchmark for ideal beauty. A seal appears behind the exquisite head as a punning badge of the city. The Greek word for seal is phokia, which is very close to Phokaia, the Greek name of the city. The seal frequently served as a mint mark of Phokaia in the Archaic and Classical periods and appears on the city's electrum hekta in a manner similar to that of the tunny fish on the electrum staters of Cyzicus.