Athena & Owl Drachm is scarce compared to Athena & Owl Tetradrachms

ATHENS FRACTIONAL OWLS - AR & AE


Athens Attica
454-404 BCE
AR HemiDrachm
16mm 2.08g
Athena frontal eye -
facing Owl wings closed olive branches
COP 70 SG 2528



Athens
340-317 BCE
AE 12
Athena attic helmet R-
Double bodied Owl with head facing E olive sprigs kalathos R
BMC 224

 

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Sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate, when dissolved in heated distilled water, is a very effective method to remove horn silver, without needing to resort to any mechanical tools, except for some toothpick perhaps.

The problem with removing horn silver is that there is a very good chance that rough, porous surfaces rest underneath. Stripping away the horn silver is also removing some of a coin's detail. This is due to the surface of the coin, over thousands of years, reacting and alternating due to environmental factors, such as oxygen, water and any other chemicals in the soil, or other surrounding coins or objects.

The result is often a rough, mushy appearance. That's why it is generally best to leave coins with dark "hoard" patina alone. Any intervention will likely have a negative impact.

Here's a rare, imitation of an Athenian new style tetradrachm. This coin has a very dark surface that some might call horn silver, others hoard patina, but no matter what term is used, any attempt to remove it would be a disaster!

 

Most Athenian tetradrachms known today come from hoards, some of them enormous (in Egypt it is often 1000s of coins). In "Le monnayage d'argent d'Athènes" Christophe Flament lists all the known hoards containing Athenian owls : we can see that the large majority of these hoards were found outside Athen's territory, in countries where owls circulated as international currency. The drachms and other subdivisions were minted in Athens mostly for domestic circulation. Outside Athens they needed drachms and obols too, but because Athens did not export them, the Middle Eastern cities minted their own Athenian drachms, with or without a mint-mark...

 

ATTICA, Athens. c. 430s-420s BC. AR Drachm (4.22 gm, 9h, 15mm).Obv: Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with olive leaves and palmette turned upwards. Rev. Owl stg. r., head facing; to left, olive spray; all within incuse square. SNG Copenhagen 41.

 

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 566-490 BC. AR heavy obol (9mm, 0.80 gm, 9h). Obv: Helmeted head of Athena right, with frontal eye (vs. eye in profile of later issues). Rev: ΑΘ(Ε), Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig behind; all within incuse square. Kroll 13; HGC 4, 1665

 

Very nice drachm and obol!

Yes, that obol is quite heavy.

 

Philistia (Palestine). Uncertain mint (possibly Gaza). Circa Mid-Fifth Century to 333 BC. AR Obol (9mm, 0.63g, 2h). Imitating Athens. Obv: AΘE; Helmeted head of Athena right, with profile eye. Rev: AΘE; Owl standing right, head facing, two olive leaves behind. Ref: SNG ANS 18; HGC 9, 610.