BOEOTIA. Thebes. 425-400 B.C. AR stater. 11.73 gm. 23.5 mm. Aeginetic standard. Boeotian shield / Hercules as an infant, nude, seated front, facing right, strangling a serpent with each hand. SNG Copenhagen 280. Very Fine; good metal, light old toning. Late issue. Rare and fascinating.

(Triton IX BCD 459: same reverse die, realized $8900--better centered, less wear.) The catalog, which was edited by BCD, notes that "It is quite possible that this, the latest Herakliskos stater issue, was struck even after the Corinthian war as a special Theban issue to complement the BO-IΩ staters which were already being issued in the name of the Boiotians. The fabric, and especially the reverse concavity of the two coinages are very similar."