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The electrum hecte coins of Phocaea in Ionia are among the most ancient and historically significant small denomination coins in the entire Greek numismatic tradition, produced by one of the most adventurous and commercially dynamic Greek cities of the archaic period, whose seafaring merchants established colonies from the Black Sea to the western Mediterranean and whose early experiments with electrum coinage place Phocaea at the very dawn of the Western monetary tradition. This Ionian Electrum Hecte from Phocaea comes with an impressive About Uncirculated grade from the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), as well as 3/5 strike and 4/5 surface grades. Today, Ionia Phocaea EL Hecte Coins are available at Bullion Metals.

Comes with a protective slab!Released between 477 and 388 BC!Issued in Phocaea, Ionia!3/5 strike grade!4/5 surface grade!Contains 2.52 grams of gold-silver alloy.Graded About Uncirculated by the NGC.The obverse features a bust of Pan.On the reverse is the quadripartite incuse square.

Released between 477 and 388 BC!

Contains 2.52 grams of gold-silver alloy.

Graded About Uncirculated by the NGC.

The obverse features a bust of Pan.

On the reverse is the quadripartite incuse square.

The electrum hecte coins of Phocaea were produced across several centuries of the archaic and classical periods, their production reflecting the city’s sustained commercial prosperity and its position as one of the most important minting centers for electrum coinage in the eastern Greek world. Phocaea shared a distinctive coinage tradition with its neighbor Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, the two cities producing electrum hecte coins of exceptional quality and artistic variety.

This Ionia Phocaea Electrum Hecte is in About Uncirculated condition with a 3/5 strike grade, indicative of a coin with an average strike and designs that retain modest detail. The 4/5 surface grade points to a coin with above-average quality for its visual appeal.

The Ionian Electrum Hecte Coins of Phocaea are celebrated for their remarkable variety of obverse types, presenting an ever-changing parade of divine heads, mythological figures, animal foreparts, and portrait types executed with the miniaturist precision and expressive quality that make the finest examples genuine masterworks of ancient die engraving at its most accomplished and creative. While this coin features the left-profile bust of Pan on the obverse, the reverse carries a simple incuse punch with a geometric pattern known as the quadripartite.