(BC 500-300) Lead weight - hemihekte

ca 500 BC. Hemihekte lead weight (1.31g, 13.3x8.6mm). Head of Silenos facing / Incuse scallop shell. gVF. Carr coll.

This lead piece appears to be a coin weight for an electrum hemihekte of Phocaic standard. The facing head of Silenos types are commonly found on coins from Sicily, Macedonia, Lesbos, Mysia and Ionia. The scallop shell, while a common type for Italy and Sicily, was used as a control symbol across the Greek world. The weight is appropriate for an electrum hemihekte of standard and type struck in Asia Minor. This appears to be the first recorded specimen, but is consistent with those anticipated by Lang and Crosby, “The Athenian Agora - Volume X: Weights, Measures and Tokens” (1964).