What is an “Eastern Issue” Tetradrachm?

I’m not trying to spam the same coin over and over I swear. Nor is this any sort of attempt to brag or gloat.

But I noticed when I bought my tetradrachm that it says “perhaps an Eastern Issue”, what does that mean?

I’ve tried looking online but haven’t found any information.

At first I thought it was minted in the East like a copy but it says “Attica, Athens” so it must come from there right?

If it is a copy does it have the same silver & purity content as the originals?

Thanks!

 

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This article may be of interest, especially since you're also looking for information on the purity of the coin.

http://numisbel.be/2011_6.pdf

 

Hmm I see purity but I don't see anything about Eastern Issues.

I'm wondering if the Eastern Issue tetradrachms are 95%+ pure too or if they're like lower quality knockoffs.

 

The assumption with these coins is that they were minted in Athens, which is why NGC wrote that on the slab. However, they were highly prized for their silver purity and weight consistency, and they circulated widely throughout the ancient world.

Because of the high demand for them, they were often imitated in the east, particularly in India, to facilitate both local and international trade. Some of the stylistic characteristics of your coin seem similar to some of these early eastern imitations, as @robinjojo explained so well in your earlier post. But with some coins, such as yours, it's difficult to say for sure. That's why NGC said "perhaps", to hedge their bets.

Unlike Roman coins where, in general, the contemporary imitations are not as desirable--apologies if I've offended any specialists--eastern imitation owls are very collectable in their own right. Whether it was minted in Athens or somewhere in the East, yours is a very beautiful and collectable coin.

 

Oh ok I see.

But you’re say even the imitations minted in the East were the same quality as the originals right?

Like they had the same weight & silver content as the ones from Athens?

For example in Ancient times would a trader be just as happy to receive an Eastern issue as an Athens issue tetradrachm?

Or were they inferior in some way to the originals?

It’s curious they copied these when the East had its own coinage like Persian Gold Darics and Silver Sigloi.

 

The Athenian owl became the "dollar" of the day. Mercenaries wanted to be paid in Owl Tetradrachms and so they were created beyond Athens to meet this need.

I have an imitation from Egypt for example.

Egypt, Athens Imitative, Silver tetradrachm
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:- ATE, 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),

Ex- Forum Ancient Coins where they graded it VF. The metal did not fill the die completely on the obverse resulting in the rough flat high area near Athena's temple. A test cut on the reverse was filled with pitch in antiquity.

The silver is quite bright making it relatively tricky to photograph.

From the Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Collection. Ex CNG. From a small hoard of 5 Athenian and 4 Athenian imitative issues.

Comment provided by Forum -
"Athenian tetradrachms with this droopy eye and bent back palmette have been identified as Egyptian imitative issues because they are most frequently found in Egypt and rarely in Greece.

Early in his reign the Egyptian Pharaoh Hakor, who ruled from 393 to 380 B.C., revolted against his overlord, the Persian King Artaxerxes. In 390 B.C. Hakor joined a tripartite alliance with Athens and King Evagoras of Cyprus. Persian attacks on Egypt in 385 and 383 were repulsed by Egyptian soldiers and Greek mercenaries under the command of the Athenian general Chabrias. Perhaps these coins were struck to pay the general and his Greek mercenaries."

17.157g, 25.3mm, 270o

 

So if as you say:

“Mercenaries wanted to be paid in Owl Tetradrachms and so they were created beyond Athens to meet this need.”


It sounds like you’re saying regardless of where the Owls were minted, they were all about the same purity & weight right?

The mercenaries didn’t care if they got paid in Eastern Issue owls or Athens minted owls am I correct?

Your Egyptian owl weighs 17.157g whereas mine weighs 17.18g which is a difference of only 0.023g. My guess is due to more wear on yours and that it was originally closer to 17.2g when first minted. Assuming both are equally pure silver I imagine they would both be valued equally?

Im just curious if there was a difference in terms of silver content among different issues or if they were all considered equal.

 

My example is in the correct weight range and with equal quality silver. I have not studied the range of other non-Athenian issues to determine if they met the same criteria. Essentially they wanted something that they could spend wherever they wished. Owls in general were subjected to test cuts and bankers marks to determine whether they were solid or not. Mine was subjected to one. I suspect that if it was about the right weight and appeared to be solid silver and looked like an Athenian owl then the mercenaries would accept it as payment.

 

Ah ok I see what you mean.

But why did they insist on owls?

Surely other places had high quality silver coinage as well no?

Like why would a Mercenary prefer 1kg of silver in Owls over 1kg of silver in Persian sigloi or Greek staters?

Was it just the first to become internationally popular and they stuck with that to keep things simple?

 

The Owl had become a trading currency across a large geographical area. So irrespective of where you were you could spend your Owl regardless of the exact currency being produced locally. If mercenaries travelled extensively then they wanted currency that they could take with them and spend elsewhere. Being paid in whatever the local standard was became too complicated. The you wanted mercenaries and they wanted to be paid in Owls then you could either get hold of Athens issue Owls to pay them or make your own.....

 

@Gam3rBlake : Your coin is not an eastern imitation.

After circa 450 BC , Athens imposed his owls to all the Delos league allies and most cities stopped striking their own coins. That mainly explain why the owl became an "international" currency among most of the greeks during the second half of the Vth century.

 

There is nothing wrong with eastern imitations, they are ancient as well and I actually find them very cute. The silver content is not different, they didn't make them to deceive, they probably liked the design that was universally acceptable and they copied it. I think your coin is 70% possible to be an eastern imitation. The face of the owl makes me say so. But apart from a few designs that are undisputably Egyptian like mine below, there are many which noone knows for sure.



Now please allow me for a constructive criticism. You should better know the coin or investigate a bit before spending 1500$ and trying to find out afterwards what did you buy. I suppose you were intrigued by the MS 5/5 4/5 grading. I, for example, would not bid on this coin because the lips of Athena are not well struck. Don't fall for the numbers, without looking at the coin first...

 

I appreciate the info.

However it’s not that I didn’t research the coin or that I only bought it for the grade.

I just wanted a nice looking owl regardless of where it was minted as long as it is ancient and authentic.

I would never spend $1,500 on a hunch I was just curious for more info about Eastern Issues.

 

Ok! I saw your message in your other thread about it being your first coin, I had no idea if you collected before any kind of coins and I find that grading numbers can easily fool new collectors. Eg there were some Ms * 5/5 5/5 owls that sold for 5 digit figures despite being of mediocre style. In any case it's the best way to start your Greek collection. You will see that you will not easily find another coin from the Greek world with such eye appeal and if you do you may have to pay at least 2 or 3 times more that what you paid now.

 

Hi @Gam3rBlake

See page 65 of this article by van Alfen https://www.academia.edu/1110551/
where the imitations are illustrated and described.

- Broucheion

 

This is a good opportunity to roll out a few imitation Owls.

These are new, photographed today.

1. Eastern Imitation tetradrachm, 14.25 grams.
4'th Century BC.
From Roma E-Sale 63, lot 156.

This coin has a small test cut on the edge.




2. Bactria, "Athenian Series" tetradrachm, 16.64 grams.
Sophytes or Andragoras, circa 305-294 or 246/5-239/8 BC
From Roma Auction XX, lot 334.




3. Eastern Imitation tetradrachm, 17.23 grams, possibly from the Levant.
4'th Century BC.
From Roma E-Sale 57, lot 231.

This imitation owl has a clear "x" in the middle of the earring, possibly a Phoenician character "T" or simply ornamentation?




4. Eastern Imitation tetradrachm, 16.92 grams, possibly from the Levant.
4'th Century BC.
From Roma Auction XVIII, lot 564.

This imitative Owl might have come from Gaza or one of the neighboring cities. There appears to be a character on Athena's cheek, possibly Aramaic.

This coin has a nice style for an imitation.




5. Eastern Imitation tetradrachm, 16.33 grams, possibly Persian.
4'th Century BC.
From Roma E-Sale 54, lot 113.

This is a good example of how far the imitations began to deviate from the original Athenian model. It is also a good example of poor metal quality which is often a characteristic for these imitations. Actually, this coin's metal quality is better that others, whose metal is debased to the point of being brittle and subject to breaking off in layers.



6. Eastern Imitation tetradrachm, 17.05.
4'th Century BC.
From Roma E-Sale 59, lot 146.

The style of this owl reminds me of the early intermediate owls issued by Athens in the first decade or so of the 4th century BC. The hairline directly above the eye is very unusual, with the hair in vertical lines instead of the normal horizontal lines.

This coin also has an interesting countermark, which I am trying to decipher.




7. I don't remember if I posted the Satrap Sabakes Owl before on CT, so here it is.

Egypt, Circa 333 BC
16.65 grams

 

Oh my bad no it wasn’t my first coin just my first Owl. I knew it was “perhaps an Eastern Issue” but I didn’t care since it’s a beautiful owl regardless.

I was just asking for more information so I could learn as much as I could about my coin ^_^