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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;tartanhill, post: 4492862, member: 93472&quot;]I have two Athens owls of the more common variety and have been searching for a Starr Group V.&nbsp; When searching the various auction houses on line, I use four criteria to determine if an owl pictured is the Group V I am looking for.&nbsp; I look for an owl whose head is not horizontal but noticeably tilted forward.&nbsp; I look for three separated tail feathers rather than three that are attached.&nbsp; I look for ΑΘΕ in small letters rather than the larger letters of later varieties.&nbsp; And I look for a longer trailing claw on the owl&#039;s back foot.&nbsp; The owl below shows what I consider a proper Starr Group V owl.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;<img src="https://www.numisbids.com/sales/hosted/roma/e69/image00340.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>In the just ended Roma auction, there were three owls that drew my attention until I applied my four criteria.&nbsp; All three were described as Starr Group V owls.</p><p>The three are shown below.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.numisbids.com/sales/hosted/roma/e70/image00457.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.numisbids.com/sales/hosted/roma/e70/image00458.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.numisbids.com/sales/hosted/roma/e70/image00459.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The first of the three I ruled out right away because it fits none of my criteria.&nbsp; The second and third have the owl&#039;s head tilted and somewhat smaller lettering but not the three separate tail feathers ( Which I think is the main telltale - no pun intended.)&nbsp; And the trailing claw is the shorter variety.</p><p><br /></p><p>All of this brings me to my question to CT members who specialize in Athens owls.&nbsp; Is the criteria I am using valid, or am I assuming some things I should not be assuming?&nbsp; If my criteria are correct, why would a major auction house make such an error in its description?&nbsp; Any comments welcomed.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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