The reverse has been variously described as: a lion breaking a spear in its jaws; a lion holding/biting a curved sword or sabre (κοπίς) in its mouth; a lion gnawing a leg bone; and as a lion gnawing on antlers of a stag. Notwithstanding the differences in description, this reverse is one of the few to have very close links to other coinage of a similar or earlier period. Early drachmae of Velia have a similar type, but an almost identical type is found on a very rare emission of staters and hemi-hekte of Kyzikos of ca 450 BC (see Coin ID #12346). Colin M. Kraay [Archaic and Classical Greek Coins (1976), p. 263] comments on the connection of the drachmae and Kyzikos (Cyzicus - Cyzicene) examples, noting the rarity of deliberate reproductions of specific coin-types across cities. There are a few similar types between the emissions of Mytilene and Phokaia, but this is a rare example of a coin-type of Mytilene with a connection with an emission of another city other than Phokaia.