Stater

Argos occupied an awkward political position throughout the fourth century — nominally independent, frequently courted by both Sparta and Thebes, and never quite trusted by either. The city's silver coinage of this period reflects a mint operating under intermittent pressure, with output tied closely to the fluctuating fortunes of the Argive state following Sparta's defeat at Leuctra in 371 BC. That battle effectively dissolved Spartan dominance over the Peloponnese and gave cities like Argos renewed room to assert themselves, including through coinage.

The Rhousopoulos reference traces to the celebrated 19th-century Athenian collector Ioannis Rhousopoulos, whose dispersed cabinet remains a key provenance anchor for Peloponnesian types.