So I received my Athens tet in the mail today. I notice it has quite a different die axis from my other coins, which are 180 degrees. The die axis on my tet is 270 degrees clockwise (owls head at 9 o'clock). It appears to be a pi one classical variation. My question is...do all tets have varying die axes --is their a period/variation standard or is it random to whoever struck the coin? I took the following pics only hours ago.
Sweet lookin' new photos, brother ... very nice!! Oh, and yes coin axis at 90 is good-to-go (or even off 90) ... yah, it certainly didn't seem quite as rigid as it is these days at the ol' mint ... Ummm, I also saw that you posed the same question in a different section/thread ... that's poor form, dawg ... ... but again => great coin!!
The majority of Athenian old style coins hemidrachm and larger tend to be 3H or 9H (plus or minus an hour) orientation. Obols are less regular in my collection. Some Greek coins are almost always of one axis while others are as random as can be imagined.
We'll I didn't get any hits and didn't know if anybody would see it to answer my question since the post is hundreds of pages long....so sorry about that
=> sorry dude, but I've never researched and/or noticed if there is a more rare (rarer?) orientation ... I suppose if nobody else pipes-up with an answer, you'd have to do a search and try to determine that answer on your own (if you do, then please post your findings) ... ... but I've never heard any special attention being given to an Attic Owl with a specific orientation (NOTE: Doug seems to have done a bit of research, stating that most of the owls are 3H & 9H => or 3 o'clock & 9 o'clock, plus or minus an hour) ... but I'm not sure if there is a difference in price for any of the rarer orientations? (but now I'm curious => good luck in your search, nathan)
I have never heard of anyone paying extra because an ancient coin did not comply with the ordinary orientation. Many issues were random. Some were odd: The above is a very oval flan and was struck 2H rather than the usual 12H or 6H. I assume the striking crew looked at the flan and decided to make as much design fit as they could. It is worth nothing extra and I'm the only person I know who might buy a coin because of that oddity and not consider it a fault.
Thanks for all the input guys. It never struck me that coins would have varying die axes until I witnessed it on my own tetradrachm. I've looked at many tets since posting this inquiry yesterday and most are at a 90 or 270 degree angle, but on many seller sites the die axis is not listed regularly as are weight and diameter. I guess it doesn't mean much to many collectors, but it is nice to know for instances when one may challenge authenticity as Doug has told me to be weary of old style tets at 0 or 180 degrees. It really racks the brain looking at side by side obverse/reverse pics trying to determine die axis....it is harder than what it seems.
