No, no, I mean that A there…

That’s graffiti! It was not part of the original design of the coin and it is unclear whether it was engraved in ancient or modern times. Countermarking, meaning marking a coin with a symbol or stamp other than the original issue, was a common practice in the ancient world, used either to renew the guarantee of the coin’s value or to reevaluate the coin or for other - personal - reasons.Milne, J. G. 1939. Greek and Roman Coins and the Study of History. London: Methuen & Co.,75-80. Other specimens of the same coin do not have this feature (fig.1), therefore we can be sure that this “A” was imprinted on the coin later on. Scholars still do not know the reason and meaning behind it, but one thing is certain: it must have made Apollo very angry.Special thanks to Dr. Evangelini Markou of the National Hellenic Research Foundation for information on the topic.