BOEOTIA. Thebes. Circa 480-460 BC. Stater (Silver, 18.5 mm, 11.98 g). Boeotian shield, with a rim divided into twelve segments; at the center of the shield, countermark of an ivy leaf (?) within an oval indent. Rev. Incuse square with an anticlockwise mill-sail pattern; at the center, large archaic theta with cruciform center. BCD Boiotia 349. BMC 6 and pl. XI, 4. SNG Copenhagen 249. Toned. Very fine.

From the Dr. Paul Peter Urone Collection, ex Classical Numismatic Group 63, 21 May 2003, 316.

While countermarks are very commonly found on coins from Olympia (they had to be revalued for use at Olympiads subsequent to their first issue) and at Aegina (after the city lost its independence the coins traded solely as bullion), Theban issues are much less commonly found with them. Only a small number of countermarks can be securely identified as official badges struck by other states; most, as here, must be private bankers' marks.