EUBOIA. Eretria. Circa 500-465 BC. Stater (Silver, 23 mm, 8.23 g, 6 h). Heifer standing to right on a ground line of pellets between two parallel horizontal lines, turning her head back to lick the hoof of her right hind leg; below, Ε. Rev. Octopus with curled tentacles and prominent eyes; all within a shallow incuse square. BCD Euboea 313 ( same dies ). BMFA 1025 ( same dies ). McClean 5698 and pl. 204, 27 ( same dies ). Rare. Nicely centered on a broad flan. Toned. Very fine.

Ex Spink USA, 21 March 2017, 45.

The types on the coins of Eretria relate to the city’s location on the island of Euboia. The name means ‘rich in cows’ and the heifer on this coin reminds us of that fact; Eretria was, of course, at the center of an area of great agricultural and pastoral wealth. The octopus was an animal that was found in abundance in the waters off the city’s coast.