Chalkon

Messene was founded in 369 BC by Epaminondas of Thebes following the Spartan defeat at Leuktra, established explicitly to permanently weaken Sparta by restoring the Messenian helots to a free population after roughly three centuries of subjugation. The city's earliest bronze coinage, of which this chalkon is a product, was therefore among the first independent issues struck by a people who had functionally no prior tradition of civic monetary production.

BCD 703 represents one of the earlier attributed pieces in this foundational series, catalogued as part of the landmark BCD Peloponnesos collection sold by Leu Numismatik in 2012.