jahrbuch numismatik geldgeschichte - Bayerische Numismatische ...

26 David MacDonaldtype in the fourth century. The Cretan cities Elyros and Polyrhenionemployed it late in the fourth or early in the early third century. It even appearedon an Achaemenid satrapal issue from Tarsos in Cilicia.13The Chi surcharge on the shield (1') cannot even be assumed with certaintyto represent Chalkis. Despite assertions to the contrary, the form of the letteris not distinctively Chalkidian or even Euboian, but rather appears in anumber of archaic Greek local scripts including that of Boiotia. This is onlyto be expected. Despite the tradition of Kadmos' introduction of writingfrom Phoenicia, it appears that Boiotia received its alphabet from Euboia."Alphabetic shield blazons bearing the initial letter of a city's ethnic appeartoward the end of the fifth or early in the fourth century,15 but there seemto be no other instances of shields charged with a City ethnic or initial oncoins. An alphabetic shield blazon on a coin of the late fifth or early fourthcentury represents a dynast's name rather than an abbreviation of a cityethnic.16 The significance of the letter on the shield/wheel issue remainsuncertain. It may stand for Chalkis, or for something else entirely, such asa magistrate's initial. Isolated letters of uncertain significance appear on a13Salamis: BMC Attica p. 116 nos. 1-11, representing the shield of Ajax; Tarsus: BMC Lycaoniap. 175 no. 79, time of Mazaeus. In addition, the heroic shield also appears as an adjuncttype, probably representing the individual badge of a magistrate, on coins of Leukas(BMC Corinth pl. XXXV, 8), Thyrrheion (BMC Corinth pl. XXXVIII, 12), on postumoustetradrachms of Philip II and Alexander from the Pella mint, (G. LeRider, Le monnayaged'argent et d'or de Philippe II, Paris 1977, Pella mint nos. 528-534), and on still morediverse issues: Imhoof-Blumer, Monnaies grecques, 221-224. For the general significanceof the "Boiotian" shield, L. Lacroix, Le bouclier, embleme des Beotiens, RBPhil 1958,5-30, and L. Lacroix, A propos des representations de boucliers sur les monnaies grecques,Centennial Publication of the American Numismatic Society, New York 1958, 401-406.The shield may have been adopted as a coin type initially because its ovoid form resembledthe turtle of Aigina. Early coins of Aiginetan weight tended toward turtle-shaped types, e.g.Melos — apple or vase, Naxos — cantharus, Coressia — squid, Andros — amphora, etc.14L.H. Jeffery, The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece, Oxford 1961, 79-83, 89-95, Table ofLetters, following Plate 72. For use of the "Chalkidian" Chi on Boiotian coins well intothe fourth century, BMC Central Greece p. 82 no. 141-142.15The Lakedaemonians used a A on their hoplite shields; Messenians M, Sikyonians E,Thebans a club, and Mantineans a trident. A or AOE variously arranged appear on shieldon a number of Attic vases, often in athletic contexts. G.H. Chase, The Shield Devices ofthe Greeks, HarvSt, 1902, 87, 110-111; A.M. Snodgrass, Arms and Armour of the Greeks,Ithaca 1967, 67.16 Dynast: Kherriga of Xanthos: 0. Merkholm and J. Zahle, The Coinages of the LycianDynasts Kheriga, Kherei and Erbbina, ActaArch 1976, p. 50 no. 31: Obv.: Helmeted headof Athena r. Rev.: Athena sitting r. with shield bearing (Y) and Lycian legend consistingof the name of Kheriga and the Lycian name of Xanthos. The shield blazon cannot standfor the initial of Xanthos; the Lycian name of that city was Arnnahe. Similarly, Pyrrhus'monogram appears on a shield on some of his coins (BMC Thessaly to Aetolia p. 113 nos.36-39) and the monogram of Achilles on a shield held by Thetis (BMC Thessaly to Aetoliap. 33 nos. 1-2: Larissa Cremaste).