Athens Owl Tetradrachm - Museum Gallery

November 2024

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Athens tetradrachm (449-413 B.C.) and conforms to the style of the huge issue struck to pay for the rebuilding of the Athenian temples. Ob: Athena wearing crested helmet ornamented with 3 olive leaves & floral scroll; her hair is drawn across the forehead in parallel curves. Rx: Owl stg. r., facing w/ erect posture; tail feathers are a single prong; to r., AOE in large letters, olive twig w/berry & cresent behind; all within an incuse square. This particular late type (420's - 404 BCE) appears to be this reference type: Kroll 8. Svoronos pl. 17 passim
There's an excellent article on these in the library; direct link is:
Athens Silver: /library/Athens%20Silver.pdf
Also, a great off-site web page on these iconic Classical Greek coins:
[ link ]
Also: read this excellent & extensive "CoinsWeekly" article of Athens Tetradrachm types at this: [ link ]
This weighs 17.2 gm at ~ 25mm and is of good silver. S2526 (BMC 11.62) I welcome comments.
NEAR EAST or EGYPT. Ca. 5th-4th centuries BC. AR tetradrachm. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet ornamented with three laurel leaves and vine scroll; X on neck above beaded necklace / AΘE, owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig with berry and crescent moon behind, all within incuse square. Peter van Alfen, "The 'Owls' from the 1989 Syria Hoard with a review of Pre-Macedonian Coinage in Egypt," AJN 14 (2002), pl. 11, 2. For Athens prototype. [Heritage]
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Article on the Owls of Athens: [ link ]