Thousand Buck Owl

I've decided I'd like to add an Athenian Owl to my coin collection/accumulation/whatever. This would be my first ancient coin purchase, and I freely admit my ignorance on the subject.

My budget is around $1000. Is that at all realistic for a decent coin? If so, what sort of tradeoffs would I be looking at and what dealers would you recommend working with?

 

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Very common coin and $1,000 will get you a decent one. Check out the link below for some choices, all from reputable dealers.

Stay away from eBay.

http://www.vcoins.com/en/Search.asp...lse&Unassigned=False&searchOrderBy=price_desc

This one is nice!
http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/par..._465454_bc_ar_tetradrachm/536368/Default.aspx

 

Take a look at the offerings here:
http://www.vcoins.com/en/Search.asp...cords=100&SearchOnSale=False&Unassigned=False

 

What should one look for when shopping for a nice owl tetradrachm?

 

Definitely a good start for your collection. The recommendation is hard because it is a guess at the current inventory inventory the dealer has. I would go to the next major coin show and look there. The August ANA show in Chicago or The Winter FUN Convention for sure. I'll be at both.

 

There are several variations of the Athenian Owl. Do you have any idea in what it is you might be interested?

 

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/wasnt-looking-for-one-of-these-greek-silver.260046/#post-2092012

 

I would love to add one of these as well, but don't know about that price tag. Yikes.

 

Ya. I would really have to trust who ever I was buying it from. I would spend quite some time researching Athenian owls before plunking down that much. I hope you find one you like!

 

I am new to ancients, and got burned on my first raw purchase (people here said it was fake). I have bought 3 since, all NGC graded. Ancient collectors apparently do not like graded, but who cares? I like the way they fit into my collection. I like the fact that it keeps the coin protected. And I really like the fact that NGC thinks the coin is legit, and any future buyers will think that too. I think any purchases in my future will be NGC coins.

 

I thought they didn't actually guarantee their ancients, just offered an opinion on grade and attribution?

 

Notice I said they THINK the coin is legit Good enough for me, and good enough for most future buyers I imagine.

 

NGC won't slab anything with a questionable authenticity. Providing a blessing of sorts, but not a guarantee of authenticity. You're typically paying a premium, but can get a decent deal every once in a while on ebay. I own 25 slabbed coins. I cracked 4 to take a look at the edges.

As far as owls are concerned; read the link Bing posted. They come in 4 main flavors: archaic, transitional, classical, and new. By far, the most popular/common is classical.

You will have to decide what devices you want on the flan, as the flan typically wasn't large enough to fit all. Do you want the full nose and neck, but don't mind the crest of the helmet negated? Do you want the full olive leaf and AOE, falling into a nearly perfect square incuse? Or, would the leaf or part of AOE being off flan not bother you?Keep in mind that a few millimeters of details can be the difference of a few hundred dollars.

Refer to the following link for types, prices realized, and ideas for what you can afford.
In your price range you will have to go with the classical, as you won't be able to touch an archaic or transitional, in decent condition, for less than 2k.
http://www.ngccoin.com/auctioncentral/ancient-coin-archives.aspx
search "athens owl"

Personally, I think one of the best places to get an Athens tet is cngcoins.com auctions. They end every other Wednesday and usually have a few to several dozen Athens offerings every auction.


The above sold on CNG 4 weeks ago for $747; so a great looking owl is definitely doable, sub 1k.

I was going to wait a bit, but I may do a write up tomorrow that is closely related to the topic at hand. Good luck!

 

What to look for:
Owls are very pure silver and therefore soft. Many have surface problems, scratches or smoothing. I believe the one Mat suggested has a bit of smoothing in the fields which is the only reason a coin that nice otherwise would be that cheap. People pay extra for centering. Many of us want a nose on Athena that is on flan. There is a premium on coins with a lot of the helmet crest showing. Test cuts, however small lower the price a lot. Earlier coins are much more expensive than later. The good news is that they are as common as dirt so you can find one that fits our desires. They are popular enough that they are never cheap. Below are my two best Classical style tetradrachms. The wear and test cuts reduce the first from several thousand (really nice centering) to a few hundred:


Similarly you will not get one with as much crest and nose as the one below unless it, like mine, has weak strike (owl chest) and messed up metal.

If you want good detail and perfect metal with no wear, $1k is no longer enough. The trick is to avoid coins that people sell with the faults mentioned but for prices as if everything were perfect. There are many, many seriously overpriced owls out there. Buy where you wish but a few weeks of watching the results from the CNG sales iamtiberius mentioned will prove educational.

 

A good transitional owl could be an option and I would think well within your budget.

Time and patience is the key.

Athens, AR Tetradrachm
Obv:– Head of Athena right with eye seen in true profile, wearing crested helmet ornamented with three olive leaves and floral scroll
Rev:– owl standing right, head facing, to right ATE in large lettering, to left olive sprig and crescent
Minted in Athens c. B.C. 393 - 370.
Reference:– Flamen p. 126, 1 (Pi I); Svoronos Athens plate 19, 17; SNG Cop -
16.699g, 24.31mm, 270o

The following information was provide by the dealer with the coin:-

"Transitional style tetradrachms include all of the wide spectrum of variants with the eye in profile issued after the classic "old style" almond eye tetradrachms but before the broad thinner flan "new style" tetradrachms. Recent research has classified variations of the transitional style - Pi Type, Quadridigité Style, Heterogeneous Style and sub-groups of the styles, and proposed chronologies for the different styles and groups.

This coin is the earliest transitional type, the first Pi style type, essentially identical to the "old style" with the exception of the eye in profile. The "Pi" designation is based on the P shape of the floral spiral and palmette ornamentation on the helmet bowl. The coin can be classified as Pi style, group 1. The floral ornament on examples this early do not yet resemble Pi."

 

Thanks for the links, everyone.

I'm open to either a transitional or classic owl, but leaning towards the latter. For a classic, It looks like my budget puts me in the VF details range with a decent surface and strike, but once I add in a Buyer's Premium it's going to be very tight.

So I guess, it's time to sit back, relax, and watch some sites until the right coin comes along with a reasonable inspection and return policy.

 

Watch CNG is my suggestion.

 

How 'bout this lil' fella, from Burnaby British Columbia (a sweet ol' Canadian owl)

http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/pra..._454404_bc_ar_tetradrachm/594285/Default.aspx





I also really like these newer owls ... this CNG example is pretty sweet (unfortunately, the CNG coin shop is usually pretty pricey)

https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=288423

 

Another type I need to get----and one everyone should have.

 

Those both look like great coins! I especially like the later one, although Athena looks a little stoned.