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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 6287583, member: 110226&quot;]I have quite a few owls, but only a few archaic examples.&nbsp; This part of the Athenian series of tetradrachms is a rabbit hole full of coins widely varying in quality.&nbsp; It seems, nowadays, that even very crude examples fetching prices in the $1,500 range or more, while coins with even remotely decent strikes, even with a test cut or two, seem to achieve ever increasing hammer prices at auction.&nbsp; One such example recently fetched a £3,000 hammer price at the recently closed Roma auction.</p><p><br /></p><p>Keeping all of this in mind, here&#039;s an archaic tet that I have owned since November 1992, by way of Harlan Berk.&nbsp; There is a notation on the tag &quot;x. m&amp;m #6 (1946) 664&quot;, which I am still trying to decipher.&nbsp; Was there an old auction firm whose initials were m&amp;m?</p><p><br /></p><p>So, here&#039;s the coin. I am still learning how to take decent pics of coins with high relief, so I apologize for the obverse pic which is a little blurry.</p><p><br /></p><p>Athens, 520-490 BC</p><p>Tetradrachm</p><p>Obverse: Athena, facing right, wearing an archaic style helmet.</p><p>Reverse:&nbsp; Owl, facing in an upright position, AOE to the right, olive branch to the left.</p><p>Seltman Group C&nbsp; or E</p><p>20mm, 3h.</p><p>17.52 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1249397[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The centering, especially on the obverse is well above average, with a full crest.&nbsp; However, as with so many coins of this period, there are signs of die wear, particularly on the reverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; In terms of metal and surface quality, this coin very good.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another interesting point with this coin is that the O (theta) on the reverse seems to have the dot within a cross, which indicates that this coin might be a somewhat earlier issue.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin doesn&#039;t hold a candle when compared to later Athenian tetradrachms, and it certainly is not in the same league or even universe when compared to later emissions from Syracuse and the Hellenistic period, but it does, in its own way, have a certain archaic charm.</p><p><br /></p><p>Edit note:&nbsp; I replaced the original image of this coin with what I think is a better one.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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