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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 26230387, member: 110226&quot;]With the rich silver deposits in Laurium, as well as tax revenues from allies and the silver treasury of the Delian League, the Athenians were able to mint an estimated one million owls annually from 440 BC to 404 BC, according to Kallet and Kroll.&nbsp; Output did drop towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, and Athens had to resort to silver plated coinage and gold didrachms (extremely rare).</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s an example of the plated owls, quite rare and not to be confused with plated unofficial fourrees.</p><p><br /></p><p>Attica, Athens plated tetradrachm, circa 406-404 BC.</p><p>Sear 2535</p><p>13.80 grams</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1675284[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The Athenian owl was the dominant coin for trade and commerce, a &quot;treasury&quot; coin, throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from approximately 440 BC to the introduction of Alexander III&#039;s coinage in approximately 330 BC.&nbsp; So it is not surprising that huge hoards of owls from various periods are discovered in the region.&nbsp; One gargantuan hoard came out of Turkey around 2017, rumored to total 30,000 coins comprised of mostly standardized owls.&nbsp; Many other hoards have entered the market as well, so the supply is plentiful.&nbsp; That means that a collector looking for a type coin has lots of options.</p><p><br /></p><p>Personally I stay away from slabbed owls (and other ancient coins) if I can.&nbsp; I pay little attention to the numbers on the slabbed coin and instead judge the coin on its own merits. I look for coins with pleasing style typifying the period, and that can mean a lower grade coin, such as this one, whose obverse I use as an avatar on another forum site:</p><p><br /></p><p>Attica, Athens, owl, circa 465 BC.</p><p>Star Group III</p><p>16.95 grams</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1675283[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The wear is obvious and the centering for the obverse, plus the flan size, precludes any detail of the crest, but the archaic modeling of Athena, with the archaic smile is a wonderful feature.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a rule of thumb the quality of the die work declines starting in 440 BC, when large minting ramped up.&nbsp; The relief declines and the features become somewhat less refined.&nbsp; The flans are sometimes larger, on the other hand, allowing for more the crest to appear.&nbsp; Quantity prevailed over quality.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s a late transitional/early standardized owl:</p><p><br /></p><p>Attica, Athens, owl late transitional, circa 445-440 BC.</p><p>16.8 grams</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1675280[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And here are a couple of later standardized owls:</p><p><br /></p><p>Attica Athens standardized owl, after 440 BC.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1675281[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Attica, Athens, owl, 440-404 BC.&nbsp; From Roma E-Sale 88, lot 138.</p><p>17.23 grams</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1675282[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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