Ionia Phocaea. Electrum Hekte circa 525 BC. Head of eagle left with double truncation of solid and dotted lines, small seal left below / Irregular incuse square. 2,57g. Bodenstedt -; Konuk & Lorber fig. 26 (this coin). A splendid specimen. Provenance: Privately purchased from Freeman & Sear in January 2009. Displayed at the White Gold exhibition in 2012. Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Beneath the eagle’s head appears a small seal. This animal was the traditional emblem of Phocaea, whose name derives from phókē, which means ‘seal’ in Greek. The Phocaeans, renowned navigators and founders of colonies throughout the western Mediterranean, saw in this marine mammal a symbol of their close relationship with the sea. By adopting the seal as a monetary motif, they affirmed their origins, their maritime culture, and their civic identity, while also playing on the etymological root of their city’s name. Sous la tête de l’aigle apparaît un petit phoque. Cet animal était l’emblème traditionnel de Phocée, dont le nom dérive de phốkê qui singifie phoque en grec. Les Phocéens, grands navigateurs et fondateurs de colonies en Méditerranée occidentale, voyaient dans ce mammifère marin un symbole de leur rapport étroit à la mer. En adoptant le phoque comme motif monétaire, ils affirmaient ainsi leur origine, leur culture maritime et leur identité civique tout en jouant sur la racine étymologique de leur nom.