The Boeotian League was a confederation of 15 cities in Boeotia, a region in the heart of Greece. The League existed from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC and stood under the lead of the powerful city of Thebes. It reached its greatest political and military weight in 371 BC, after the Battle of Leuctra, when a Boeotian army defeated the Spartans, who had until then been considered unbeatable in pitched battle. Our coin dates back to that epoch.
The Boeotian League issued staters after a collective standard and of the same type. The obverse of these confederate coins bore the large traditional Boeotian shield covered by an ox-hide; the reverse showed the initial letters of the respective issuing city. The shield of ox-hide was a commemoration of the old body shields of the Bronze Age. At the same time the depiction was a pun – 'bous' meant 'ox,' and alluded to Boeotia.