Byzantion. Half-Shekel - 4th Century BC

I hope it helps:





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Nice coin to have as your first post. Welcome, Melkart.

....Don't know anything about these but looks to be a nice example..

Interestingly I tried searching using half shekel..'nothing'....Changed the search criteria to half siglos and up they came?...

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The earliest known coins are believed to have been produced in Asia Minor in the 7th century BC. The "shekel" as a unit of measure indeed goes back to ancient Sumeria but coins did not come into use until much later. https://cNGCoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=349632

Thanks everyone for your comments.

At that time (5th-4th BC centuries) Byzantion had been under Greek and Persian control, which might be reflected both in coins design and metrology standards.

Traditionally a shekel weighs 8,4 grams, but Silver-Shekel coins in Persia in the period 450 BC-330 BC were just about 5.55 grams. Silver drachms in Greece were around 4.3 grams. Apparently, this makes my hemidrach/half-shekel(2,43 gr) under the Persian standard (2,775 gr) and above the Athenian (2,15 gr).

In this sense, the source I am consulting ("History of ancient coins 700-300 BC", written in 1913) says: "At Byzantium drachms of Persian weight were issued (84 grains, 5.44 grams) with the type of a bull standing on a dolphin, and a somewhat primitive incuse on the reverse. It is hard to determine their date on stylistic grounds, as the incuse is obviously a mere survival, as it is at Cyzicus and Cardia; but I think that Mr. Head, is assigning it to 415 BC, come down too late. The date of the coins being doubtful, and the history of Byzantium full of vicissitudes, it is impossible to assign them to any particular phase of the history of the city, They seem to have continued for a considerable time, and to be the most noteworthy sign of Persian influence in the region."

Considering that also for hemidrachms, it seems it was coined after 415 BC. Said before that it was coined before Macedonian times (started with the siege of 340 BC), and so it matches with the description provided here (416-357 BC):

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ap...Default.aspx

And also here:

https://www.soleryllach.com/es/lote...ntion-tracia

This also matches with the information provided by Gincoin43 about the hemidrachm. From the twin city of Kalchedon (monogram ΚΑΛ) (367-340 BC), separated from Byzantion by the sides of the Bosphorus strait, today form the European and the Asian sides of the city of Istanbul. As I have read, in 4th century Calchedon imitated Byzantion coins.

So apparently the auction house made a mistake by describing it as 340-320 BC.

Masis, thanks for your contribution. Do you have any catalogue reference for it? Hard to find anything conclusive.