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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 8297193, member: 110226&quot;]I am not aware of any political reasons for test cuts on Athenian owls.&nbsp; I&#039;ve always thought of them as a practical measure that merchants would take if they suspected that a coin was plated.&nbsp; In some instances there were official testers who would examine a coin, and if good, would place a countermark on the coin an indication of approval for circulation.&nbsp; Merchants and bankers did the same.&nbsp; There are lots of owls with sometimes very interesting countermarks, sometimes in combination with test cuts, as shown below.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is actually a Pharaonic imitation owl, with what appears to be a Paleo Hebrew M countermark on the reverse (at least that&#039;s my opinion).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1467371[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Not sure about the countermark on this owl - still researching.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1467372[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Another owl with a Phoenician M countermark.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1467374[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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