Boeotia. Thebes. Stater. Damo[...], magistrate, circa 395-338 BC (Silver, 22.33 mm, 12.28 g). Boeotian shield. Rev. ΔA - MO, Amphora, with ivy-spray hanging from left handle; above, club. BCD Boeotia 491 (this coin). Hepworth 21. BMC 129. HGC 4 1330. Lovely old cabinet toning with underline iridescence. A solid Extremely Fine.
On the reverse die used to strike this coin, the O in the ethnic has been engraved over an W. One wonders what could be the reason for such a change on the die if we are dealing with the same magistrate. It would be understandable to produce dies with the same magistrate's name spelled in two or more different ways (and as just one example of this see for instance lots 482 as against 483/4/5 above), but if there is a change on the die from one way of spelling to another it means that it was necessary to separate the coins produced into clearly identifiable different lots and that this system, being quicker and more economical to apply, was preferred over the other option of engraving a totally new die.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Triton IX - BCD Boeotia, 10 January 2006, lot 491.