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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gallienus, post: 2577563, member: 42034&quot;]Well I just have a semi-cheap one bought from Stack&#039;s NYICS auction, Jan 2016. It&#039;s the smooth shelled type, however I&#039;m wondering if I should have held out for an earlier type or an unusual or high grade specimen?&nbsp; This was bought sight unseen as a choice VF with no &quot;eyes on&quot; for the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.coinsandhistory.com/pix_coin/Ancients/Greece_Aegea_turtle-stater_both_Stacks.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>This piece proved useful despite the lower grade.&nbsp; I was invited to do a presentation on &quot;Ancient Coins&quot; for a high school class that was finishing their semester on Ancient Civilizations in Sao Paulo, Brazil.&nbsp; I thus brought a small collection of Ancients from the US to Brazil for the presentation (last week).&nbsp; Due to possible problems with customs and stuff in general in Brazil, I&#039;d prefer not to transport many super high grade pieces: not that I have those.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also I have a question?&nbsp; This piece is frequently listed as being struck from 480 - 457 BC.&nbsp; Turtles are said to have been struck from 600 BC (or at least 550 BC) &amp; following and were made in immense quantities.&nbsp; However, the types earlier than this appear very infrequently in auctions and it seems unlikely that the whole population of turtles was made during just a 23 year period as above.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve seen production estimates of 70,000 turtles/year however, for 23 years this would seem to imply that only 1.4 million pcs were struck (excluding the very rare archaic types).&nbsp; Given attrition &amp; the fact that most people should be happy to trade their turtles in for Athenian tetradrachmas, I&#039;d expect a higher mintage.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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