THEBES SILVER STATER – ISSUE OF MAGISTRATE KALI – CHOICE XF NGC GRADED GREEK BOEOTIA COIN (Inv. 19855)

$1,350.00

19855. BOEOTIA, THEBES. Ca. 395–338 BC.
Silver Stater, 12.21 g, 22 mm. Issue of magistrate KALI–.
Obv. Boeotian shield. Rev. Amphora, KA–ΛI across field.
Hepworth 62; BCD Boiotia 554; HGC 4, 1338.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, a nicely centered and attractive piece with iridescent highlights, scarce magistrate with only 18 specimens listed on CoinArchives.

Since the sixth century BC, the Boeotian shield had been the standard obverse type for the coinage of Thebes. Unlike the standard circular shield (hoplon) used by most Greek hoplites of the Classical period, the Boeotian shield was more oblong and easily distinguished by a cutout on the left and right sides – essentially representing a modernized version of the old figure–eight shields used by Mycenaean warriors of the Bronze Age and the Homeric epics.