Struck between roughly 470 and 440 BCE, this coin emerged during one of the most turbulent periods in Aegina's history. At the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE, the Aeginetan triremes performed so well against the Persian fleet that Aegina, not Athens, was awarded the prize for valor. However, this very success ultimately worked against the island. As Athens rose to imperial dominance through the Delian League, the rapidly expanding city-state increasingly viewed Aegina as a commercial and naval rival sitting far too close for comfort. In fact, Pericles is said to have referred to Aegina as the eyesore of the Piraeus. Soon enough, between 459 and 457 BCE, this rivalry boiled over into open war. After defeating the Aeginetan fleet and besieging the city, Athens forced Aegina to dismantle its walls, surrender its ships, and pay tribute as a subject ally. That being said, the turtles continued to be struck for a time afterwards. However, within a generation the sea turtle on the obverse would be replaced by a land tortoise - a rather unmistakable admission that Aegina's days as a maritime power were over.