The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

CHKONOLOGY OF THE COINS OF CHIOS. 365
the island had either to submit to the greater power or
become its ally. The ruling party was wise enough
to perceive the advantage of the latter course, and,
though secretly antagonistic to her, its members kept
up the appearance of being sincerely friendly to
Athens. They maintained their position in the state
by yielding on every occasion when Athens interfered
in its aifairs, and at the beginning of the Peloponnesian
war Chios even sent her fleet against Sparta though
really in sympathy with her cause.
It is to the period of true independence, which is
hard to define within a decade, that belong the famous
Jidrachms and tetrobols that are perhaps the best
known of the island's silver coins. They must have
been issued in large quantities, but a really fine
specimen is very hard to obtain, for in spite of the
skill and care with which the dies were executed the
coins are seldom well struck. The weight is carefully
preserved on the whole, but does not quite equal that
attained by the didrachms of the previous century.
It is. by no means unusual to come across one of the
latter weighing 123 grains (7-97 grammes), or the
maximum of the standard, but among the fifth-century
didrachms 121-5 grains (7-87 grammes) is the highest
point touched in my experience. This is confirmed
by the tetrobols, the heaviest I know of being No. 13
of B. M. Cat.: Chios, which weighs 40-5 grains (2-624
the limit
grammes), and thus exactly represents
reached by the didrachms.
The type carries on the leading features of the
previous century with the addition of a bunch of
grapes above the amphora, and a few minor refinements,
some of which have already been noted as