THEBES SILVER STATER – ISSUE OF RARE MAGISTRATE AΣΩ – CHOICE VF NGC GRADED GREEK BOETIA COIN (INV. 20052)

$1,375.00

20052. BOEOTIA, THEBES. Ca. 395–338 BC.
Silver Stater, 12.23 g, 20 mm. Issue of magistrate AΣΩ –.
Obv. Boeotian shield. Rev. Amphora, A above Ω in left field; Σ above grape bunch in right field.
BCD Boeotia 579; Hepworth 15; HGC 4, 1334; SNG Copenhagen 321.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, “flan flaw,” rare magistrate with only seven specimens on CoinArchives.

Beginning in 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.