Aegina Land Tortoise Stater
Circa 400–300 BC ・ silver ・ 4th century BC ・ Aegina
Stater from circa 400–300 BC. Instead of the earlier sea turtle, a land tortoise with a clearly segmented shell is engraved. The change in design has been linked to the conquest by Athens in 457 BC, but both the date and the cause of this change are debated and unproven. The period when the sea turtle came ashore coincides with the period when Aegina lost its sea power——all that is certain is this juxtaposition of facts. The reverse has a square incuse punch. From the collection of the Staatliche Münzsammlung, Munich.