A silver 1/36 Stater from the island of Lesbos, dated to circa 500–450 BC, belongs to the early phase of archaic coinage within the north-eastern Aegean monetary sphere.
In the 6th–5th centuries BC, Lesbos was one of the principal centres of the Aeolian world, with the city of Mytilene playing a dominant role. The island remained within the sphere of the Persian Empire until the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BC), and subsequently became a member of the Athenian maritime alliance (Delian League) in the mid-5th century BC (cf. Thucydides III.2–5 – the revolt of Mytilene in 428 BC).
Greece
Lesbos, 1/36 Stater, 500-450 BC
Obverse: Confronted boar's heads
Reverse: boar's head within square incusum
Diameter 7 mm, weight 0.2 g
