What's the secret handshake? Another new owl tet club member

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by TIF, May 23, 2019.

  1. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    The fabric and surfaces of your coin are so nice.

    I generally don't say because people can look it up in archives but this auction company isn't on ACsearch. The all-in price (hammer, buyer's premium, and shipping-- I paid by check so there were no credit card or PayPal fees) was $828.10. Not cheap, but a pretty good deal for the quality of the coin.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
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  3. PeteB

    PeteB Well-Known Member

    TIF: A KEEPER!!!
    Well done!

    A skilled technician can probably easily remove the horn silver....but that is for the future. Right now, ENJOY a great coin.
     
    zumbly and TIF like this.
  4. TheRed

    TheRed Well-Known Member

    Congrats on the great coin @TIF you acquired a wonderful example. Don't rule out the the newstyle tets, they can be quite attractive, even if they don't have the history to associate with them.
    20171217_091648.jpg

    I was at a coin show a few months ago and a seller had a very large selection of the classical tets. He let me take the photo below, and it was only one of five trays on display.
    20190301_160046_HDR.jpg
     
  5. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Let me just say that having married a lawyer, I now know better than to make deals with one. ;)
     
  6. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Lovely addition to your collection, @TIF !
     
    TIF likes this.
  7. happy_collector

    happy_collector Well-Known Member

    Very nice classical tet, TIF. I also waited for a few years before getting my classical. I then branched out into early transitional tet. Here is one I purchased recently. A Starr Group V example with "three tail feathers".

    zzz-Athena01s=.jpg
     
  8. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    What a pretty coin TIF! Be sure to check out the vid, open that sucker up on a monitor and check that sweet thing out in 720p! NICE!

    I couple of years ago I was at a coin show and almost whipped out the credit card to get a budget version of one of these. It had some serious flaws but holding it in hand REALLY made me want one more that just looking at pics on vcoins or something. I'm sure that new coins feels as sweet at it looks @TIF!
     
    TIF likes this.
  9. AussieCollector

    AussieCollector Moderator Moderator

    Congrats @TIF !! A really beauty.

    Welcome to the club (although I admit I am a very poor member of this club)
     
    TIF likes this.
  10. Mkman123

    Mkman123 Well-Known Member

    Absolutely beautiful!! My first ancient definitely will be a Owl Tet!!
     
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  11. dadams

    dadams Well-Known Member

    It's common and perhaps not as exciting as some of your "Snake Cowboys" or other exotics but, as you say, it is icoinic so I'm happy you pulled the trigger on one of these. I bought mine at the beginning of the year with many of the same requirements you had but had to give a slight bit so that I could stay within budget. I'm happy with mine and you should certainly be happy with your well bought owl. As an aside of all my coins shown to my non-collecting friends this coin is the only one they know.



    [​IMG]
    From the January 2nd CNG e-Auction 435, Lot 54.
    ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (23mm, 17.18 g, 1h)
     
  12. pprp

    pprp Well-Known Member

    That's a coin with fantastic eye appeal and you know that I am not easy to give compliments :woot:

    I don't see any scratches either and I also don't see any reason for it to get a 3/5. It doesn't seem to be polished and there are no pits. W.r.t what you call horn silver, I wouldn't be so sure it is not some kind of deposits as all of the coins of the hoard have them. I got either overcleaned versions which are silver white because of the chemical bath or others which still have some deposits. I prefer the ones with the deposits...

    One of my recent ones, although it got a star doesn't have the eye appeal of yours. I chose it only because it is an eastern imitation (in my opinion).

    tet.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2019
  13. pprp

    pprp Well-Known Member

    This one has great appeal as well. You are lucky because my browser crashed and so I didn't Clio you in that e-sale :angelic: I was quite upset but when I read it's your first tet, I am extremely happy that I didn't get it. Some things happen for a purpose.
     
    Paul M., TIF and AussieCollector like this.
  14. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Wow @TIF, that's exceptionnal in every way, as usual with you should I add
    You have an eye and impeccable taste.
    Puts mine to shame even though I love it

    [​IMG]
    ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm
    Helmeted head of Athena right, with frontal eye
    Owl standing right, head facing, olive sprig and crescent behind, all within incuse square. ΑΘΕ in the right field
    24mm, 17.08 g, 8h
    Ref : Kroll # 8; HGC # 4,1597

    Q
     
  15. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Only six years? Ha! I've admired them for forty-three years, but have yet to own one. Primarily for just the reason you've mentioned, and for the simple fact that my tastes far outpace my budget with these.

    You see, I want my first Athenian owl tet to be a nice one, and the ones I really like all seem to have four-figure pricetags, which puts them out of my reach.

    I am content with this, which is now my favorite "Eclectic Box" coin after my recent downsizing. Sure, it's not Athenian, but it has Athena. And as nice an owl as one could hope to see (at least in my budget range).

    Greece (Spartan colony in Taras, Calabria, Italy): silver drachm, ca. 302-281 BC
    [​IMG]


    This next one was a pretty nice owl, too, even if it looked more like a winged bullfrog.

    And it cost less than what a really crummy Athenian owl with huge test cuts would have.

    I now wish I hadn't sold it. At the time, I was sticking to the "Box of 20" concept and told myself I didn't need two owls in my then-tiny collection. In retrospect, that was rather was silly of me.

    Greece (Pontos, Amisos): silver drachm or siglos featuring Hera and owl, ca. late 5th to 4th century BC

    [​IMG]


    So I can't replicate the secret handshake, but I can make a gesture which looks sort of similar from a distance. :)

    Bang for the buck, the two owls here have as much appeal as a classic Athenian, if you ask me, but if you've got the money for a nice Athenian (and it appears you did, since the one in the OP is indeed nice), then good for you.

    They're sort of "must have" coins, aren't they? Maybe one day my tastes and budget will overlap just enough for me to acquire one that pleases me. We shall see. "Athenian owls that I both love and can afford" is a pretty narrow margin.
     
  16. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    That is indeed another bonus of owning one :).

    Thanks, pprp! Yours is a very sharp example.

    Q, it most certainly does not put yours to shame, plus yours has a background story that makes most other coin acquisitions pale: it was a gift from your beloved wife, right? That alone elevates it to lofty status, and the coin itself is beautiful.

    I'm late to the game, only being aware of ancient coins for six or seven years :oops::D.

    Well said-- that was my position too.
     
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  17. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    [drool]

    That's the type I really would have liked to have, and a stellar example at that!
     
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  18. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Well, you've gone way farther than I have in 43 years of collecting. I've only really collected ancients for 12 of those years, and even then not exclusively. (I have lots of non-ancient stuff to distract me, being an eclectic collector of practically everything- and on a limited budget, at that.)
     
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  19. maridvnvm

    maridvnvm Well-Known Member

    I am down to owning two Owl Tets. I did have two classical tets. (both had a variety of cuts, graffiti or banker's marks). I sold these with the intent of getting an example that was free of these issues but my search continues. I had two transitional tets., one an earlier transitional and a standard transitional. I kept the early transitional as I doubt that I will ever want to upgrade it as it meets my criteria, the standard transitional suffered as so many of that issue did from tight flans etc. and a banker's mark and so I parted with it. I briefly had an Arabian Imitative drachm but it had several issues with it. I still have my Egyptian imitative tet. and I haven't seen too many of these on the market.

    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
    [​IMG]

    Obv:– Head of Athena right, droopy eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and bent-back palmette, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves.
    Rev:– ΑΘΕ, right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square;
    Minted in Egypt from . B.C. 420 - 380.
    Reference:– cf. SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526 (Athens)
    From the Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Collection. Ex CNG. From a small hoard of 5 Athenian and 4 Athenian imitative issues.
    17.157g, 25.3mm, 270o
    [​IMG]

    I would love to have an example similar (though probably not as nice) as the example @TIF has obtained but I am not sure if my other collecting distractions will get in the way. Time will tell.
     
  20. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I had not heard that term for the new batch but I assume that is what they are calling the 30,000 (rumor?). All seem to be from the same period (sad) but that period is one that everyone likes and produced many nice coins. A friend showed me three of his from the group that each had something different going for it (full crest, best reverse strike, best average overall) and commented that the prices were dropping. I observe that you seem to get better for the money now but I wonder how it will affect prices for owls a decade older or newer. I assume the new batch was a 'mint sack' (amphora, chest, whatever) and most will be taken by those who want only a representative owl rather than a study group.

    At risk of being seen as an NGC apologist (I still hate sealed plastic coffins), the two guys are IMHO doing the right thing by being stringent on scratches because they are even harder to see after the coin is in the slab and they really do not want people cracking coins out of their slabs and finding 'missed' faults. Some of us are harder on scratches than others. Some of us have better eyesight, some take pictures and look at coins enlarged many times. It is a fact that a coin honestly worn to Fine is going to have scratches (circulation happens). Owls were made of good silver which means they are soft and easily scratched. Relatively few of us have circulated owls since most of them were stored away in whatever served then as bank vaults. A tetradrachm was a large amount of money. The fast food stands did not have a tetradrachm menu (think obol?).

    g41260b00478lg.JPG g41270b00741lg.JPG

    I had a third one which I traded to Reid long ago. I paid too much for these back in the early 1990's. It is common for seller's to claim their plated owl is from the Emergency and price it accordingly. Not all of us agree on what an emergency coin should look like.
     
  21. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Thread Title:

    What's the secret handshake? Another new owl tet club member

    It is actually the Ren & Stempy butt bump.

    upload_2019-5-24_10-5-39.png

    My Owl Tet was proved outside the Greek World area... perhaps the Persian Empire or India?

    Posted before:
    "I like mine with Banker's marks... especially when they were smacked onto Athena's face which was a BIG NO-NO in the Greek World! So, they had to have circulated OUTSIDE the Greek World, or Athena would had ZAPPED them!
    They are some of my first Ancients captures, and I liked them as they were DIFFERENT from most the other collected Owl Tets."
    [​IMG]
    Athens Owl 16.8g 22x6-5mm Intermediate owl Tet late classical Hellenistic transitional c 393 BCE-early 2nd C BCE
     
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