Obolos 38

MYSIA. Lampsakos (?). Tetartemorion (Silver, 5 mm, 0.16 g, 10 h). Archaic head of Apollo (?) to left, wearing tainia. Rev. ΛΑ[M] Owl standing to left. Seemingly unpublished, but Cf. Asia Minor Coins Online ID 10951 (Uncertain, no reverse ethnic). Cf. SNG Aikantürk 613, and Classical Numismatic Group e585, 16 April 2025, 110 for tetartemorions of Lampsakos bearing similarity. Toned. Rough surfaces, otherwise, about very fine.

These fractions are often attributed to an uncertain mint in western Asia Minor, however they bear a resemblance to tetartemoria of Lampsakos from the same timeframe. Those coins portray the same uncertain Archaic head facing to left on the obverse, and the head of Athena within an incuse square on the reverse. Instead of Athena, our coin displays an owl, which is linked to Athena both mythologically and numismatically, via the coinage of Athens. Furthermore, we can make out the legends "ΛΑ", and what looks to be an M in the right field. Taking this into account, we can make a tenuous connection of these coins to Lampsakos.
We are aware that Athenian coinage was widely used in trade throughout the Mediterranean, this is likely the explanation for the similar iconography on the coinage of Lampsakos from this period. However we should also consider that Themistokles, the famed Athenian admiral and statesman, was ostracized from Athens and eventually lived out his remaining days serving as the Persian satrap of Magnesia. From 464 to 459 BC, Lampsakos was under the governorship of Themistokles, and it is possible that under his governorship, Lampsakos adopted Athenian iconography on their coinage. We know that Magnesia ad Maeandrum had done so with some of its coinage. (Cf. Nollé & Wenniger TH 6a, and Leu WH e20, 16 July 2022, 1144).