Electrum Stater, Cyzicus, 500-450 BCE

Electrum Stater, Cyzicus, 500-450 BCE; Obverse: Naked male warrior kneeling and holding an arrow in right hand with a bow hanging around left wrist.
Electrum Stater, Cyzicus, 500-450 BCE; Reverse: Four-part square incuse punch.
Unidentified Artist, Greek 

Type/Object Name: Ob:Naked male warrior kneeling and holding an arrow in right hand with a bow hanging around left wrist. | Re: Four-part square incuse punch. 

Dates: 500-450 BCE

Medium: Electrum, Stater

Dimensions: Diameter 17.5 mm, Weight 15.96 g

Credit Line: Courtesy of John Nebel

Notes: Cyzicus was a Greek city on the Sea of Marmara, in northwestern Türkiye. Cyzicus minted coins made of electrum (a gold-silver alloy) through the 4th century BCE, long after other places had switched to solid gold or silver in the 6th century. The obverse of this coin shows a warrior wearing a helmet and with a bow hanging from his wrist as he sights along his arrow. His nudity shows he is heroic, according to Greek artistic conventions. The tuna fish behind him was the symbol of the city Cyzicus, in part because there were large numbers of tuna in the nearby seas, and all of its coins feature a tuna. The reverse of Cyzicus’ coins was often stamped with a four-part incuse punch like this one. This coin was probably worth roughly a year’s wages for an unskilled laborer.

Collection: Coin, John Nebel

Bibliography: Greenwel 94; von Fritze 115, IV 2; Boston 1484.