Hemidrachm

The Boeotian League's federal coinage was one of the ancient world's earlier experiments in issuing coins on behalf of a political confederation rather than a single city-state. This hemidrachm falls within the decade following the death of Alexander the Great, when Boeotia navigated the brutal fragmentation of his empire — the Diadochi wars pulled Greek poleis into shifting alliances, and the League's ability to maintain federal monetary output during this period reflects a degree of institutional continuity that many neighboring regions could not sustain. The Demetrius Poliorcetes occupation of much of Greece after Ipsus in 301 BC bears directly on the political backdrop of the later issues in this date range.