Tetradrachm ca. 460-454 BC Athens Attica, Athens, Imitation?, Silver AU(55-58)

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Head of Athena to the right, wearing a crested Attic helmet, decorated with three olive leaves over the visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl, and wearing a necklace and earrings., Owl standing right, head facing; behind, crescent and olive sprig with berry; before, legend AΘE; all within incuse square., Tetradrachm of a unique and original type. The reverse is truly singular in comparison with other Athenian coins dating from the middle of the 5th century BC, especially those produced between 454 and 404 BC.The owls on Athenian tetradrachms from this period almost all have an upper part of their wing made up of three to five rows of dots. Our example is completely different from this characteristic, having a part of the wing symbolised by eight to ten rows of dots, and appearing as a cluster of dots.This major distinction raises the question of the authenticity of this coin. Indeed, we cannot exclude the hypothesis of a modern forgery, as the tetradrachms of Athens are undoubtedly the coins that have been the most extensively studied of all Ancient Greek coinage. As a result, it is difficult to expect to find a completely unknown and unreferenced type, when this object of study is so abundant and so extensively documented.However, we do not exclude its authenticity, as the coin has several characteristics that point in this direction.Such a singularity could be due to a contemporary imitation produced by a Greek engraver, perhaps of Athenian origin considering the proximity to the standard type. However, this could be in contradiction with a desire to put counterfeit coins into circulation, as this example is clearly different from the standard type, and it would most likely have been suspected by contemporaries who had it in their hands, both money changers and users.We can therefore consider the hypothesis that this example is an official production from the city of Athens, at an early stage in the standardisation of its coinage, when the owl on the reverse had not yet been fully adopted.In a very subtle way, it would seem that the engraving is earlier than the types dated from 454 to 404 BC, as the head of Athena shows an almond-shaped eye and a facing angle, as would be the case with eyes in a classical style with late archaic influences.Thanks in particular to this wing, the owl looks very tall and slender: its engraving occupies most of the height of the die, and the top of its head is almost at the limit of the incuse square. This is a trait found on types dated from the early Classical period between 470 and 460 BC, whereas later types tend to have slightly lower heights.On the contrary, its head, which is horizontal and facing, is similar to the types produced after 454 BC, and differs from those produced before 460 BC, which are slightly inclined (HGC 4 , 1595 / 1596 & Starr, Group IV / V).On the surrounding area, the crescent is very small and almost attached to the owl, a detail that is more common on tetradrachms dated between 470 and 460 BC. Another aspect of these pre-454 BC productions is the "A" in "AΘE", whose horizontal bar is oblique here, almost touching the end of the letter's right leg. This is a typical form of archaic Greek lettering used before 460 BC (Starr, Group II to V & HGC 4, 1593 to 1596).Finally, if we look at the olive branch on the reverse, excluding the possibility of a cracked die (unlikely as the die appears to be only slightly damaged), we could have two berries instead of one. This is a characteristic that doesn't seem to be found anywhere else and is therefore difficult to explain.Although it is very difficult to conclude between the two possibilities mentioned above, it would appear that this coin is not a later imitation (4th century), as its style is highly recognisable and precise. The same applies to the possibility of a modern forgery, given the condition of the blank in the area of the ‘AΘE’ on the reverse and the edge, which shows signs of the removal of surface corrosion caused by a long period buried underground.There remains the possibility of a non-Greek production, perhaps originating from the Phoenician coasts of the Levant, in the region of Palestine, with rare examples known and reproducing the Athenian types with great accuracy.Although we do not completely exclude the other possibilities discussed, the characteristics detailed above tend to suggest that the coin could be dated within a limited period of time. It would be dated between the end of the production of coins with archaic attributes (the A, the crescent, the eye of Athena) around 460 BC, and the beginning of the first productions of Athenian tetradrachms with the most well-known type, dated between 454 and 404 BC.This example is remarkable for its originality and near-uniqueness, as it has not been found in sales with an identical reverse die., AΘE

 

Deutsch abbrev.	Deutsch Erhaltungsgrade	Englisch  Grades der Kühlung	Französisch États de  Erhaltung	Italienisch Stati di  conservazione
PP	Polierte Platte	Proof (PRF)	Flan bruni (FB)	Beweis
st	Stempelglanz, stempelfrisch	Stempelglanz (MS65-MS70)	Fleur de coin (FDC)	Fior di conio
vz+	fast unzirkuliert	Almost uncirculated (AU)
vz	Vorzüglich	Vorzüglich (EF oder XF)	Superbe (SUP)	Splendido
ss	Sehr schön	Sehr fein (VF)	Très Très beau (TTB)	Bellissimo
s	Schön	Fine (F)	Très beau (TB)	Molto bello

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