Obv: Head of young Herakles. Rev: Crab with club below and name of Magistrate. Metal silver 1.5 grams, 13 mm diameter. Condition: VF

Cos was the birthplace of Hippocrates and the center of the worship of Asklepious the god of medicine. From Cos several other Asklepious (medical) sactuaries spread to other cities. Cos was a reluctant member of Athens Delian league. They stopped coinage in 449 BC when Athens ordered all members of the Delian league to stop producing coins, but Cos made a minor revolt and started issueing coins again in 440 BC. Cos was destroyed in the Peloponnessian war. The city of Cos was refounded in 366 BC under the influence of Athens. In 357 BC, Cos along with other Island states (Chios and Rhodes) revolted against Athens. This left them vulnerable to Persia. "Mausolos" (a Persian tributary prince in Caria) garrisoned troops on the islands in 354 BC effectively taking control. The citizens of Cos and Rhodes appealed to Athens to intercede against this new tyrant without success. Meanwhile "Mausolos" died and the Carians lost interest in the islands. The islands eventually fell under Macedonian rule and than Ptolomaic rule. Under the Ptolomaic kings Cos became a cultural center.