177, Lot: 38. Estimate $200. Sold for $265. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BOEOTIA, Federal Coinage. Circa 304-294 BC. AR Drachm (15mm, 5.82 g). Boiotian shield / Amphora within incuse square. BCD Boiotia 62 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 261. VF, toned, two test marks on shield, die breaks on reverse as is usual for this die.

From the BCD Collection. Ex Sotheby’s (12 May 1983), lot 186.

This enigmatic series of coins which were dated far too early by Head (who had no hoard information) were probably struck when Demetrius Poliorcetes "liberated" Thebes, or during the decade that followed. The Talanta (1948) hoard (CH III, 31), with a burial date of c. 280 BC, would point to a minting date for these coins of circa 300 BC. They are almost never encountered well centered on both sides and sharply struck at the same time. This also speaks for their late date but was not used as an argument when Head dated them to 387-374 BC. For Head's listing of these coins see Head, Boeotia, pp. 57-60