Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction X 27 September 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm. Circa 510-490 BC. Archaic head of Athena to right, wearing crested helmet decorated with chevron pattern and spiral / Owl standing to right, head facing, olive sprig behind, ΑΘΕ before; all within incuse square. Seltman group L; Cf. Asyut pl. 14, 261-265; cf. Svoronos pl. 6, 8-10. 16.80g, 24mm, 11h.
Extremely Fine. Engraved in very fine style, well struck and lustrous. An exceptionally beautiful example of one of Athens' earliest owl tetradrachms.
Privately purchased from Gorny & Mosch.
The famous Athenian 'owl' tetradrachm, unquestionably one of the most influential coins of all time, was introduced by the tyrant Hippias sometime between c.525 and c.510 BC, with van Alfen offering a date of about 515 as the most current view. The basic design would remain unchanged for nearly five hundred years, be extensively copied throughout the Mediterranean, and is today, as it was then, emblematic of Greek culture.
The quality of the engraving on the early owl tetradrachms varies greatly, from the sublime to some which are very crude indeed. This disparity led Seltman to propose that those tetradrachms of fine style, such as the present piece, were issues from a 'civic' mint in Athens, while those exhibiting little talent on the part of the engravers emanated from an 'imperial' mint in the Attic or Thracian hinterlands.
The dies of this particular specimen are exceptionally charming, and the engraving of the owl is especially noteworthy for its elegance. This coin is certainly one of the very best early archaic Athenian owl tetradrachms to have come to the market in the past fifteen years.
Extremely Fine. Engraved in very fine style, well struck and lustrous. An exceptionally beautiful example of one of Athens' earliest owl tetradrachms.
Privately purchased from Gorny & Mosch.
The famous Athenian 'owl' tetradrachm, unquestionably one of the most influential coins of all time, was introduced by the tyrant Hippias sometime between c.525 and c.510 BC, with van Alfen offering a date of about 515 as the most current view. The basic design would remain unchanged for nearly five hundred years, be extensively copied throughout the Mediterranean, and is today, as it was then, emblematic of Greek culture.
The quality of the engraving on the early owl tetradrachms varies greatly, from the sublime to some which are very crude indeed. This disparity led Seltman to propose that those tetradrachms of fine style, such as the present piece, were issues from a 'civic' mint in Athens, while those exhibiting little talent on the part of the engravers emanated from an 'imperial' mint in the Attic or Thracian hinterlands.
The dies of this particular specimen are exceptionally charming, and the engraving of the owl is especially noteworthy for its elegance. This coin is certainly one of the very best early archaic Athenian owl tetradrachms to have come to the market in the past fifteen years.