I was not bidding on this piece. While I enjoy the beauty of ancient coins, especially as nice this one, my collecting interest are else where.
I think there's more to collecting ancients than just focusing on one aspect of a particular issue, such as the Athenian owls. True, full crest owls are rare, but I think the focus, indeed the hype behind the marketing of "full crest" owls pushes other considerations off the stage, in my opinion. There are distinct artistic qualities for each period of owl production, from the classical transitional types to the huge output of the standardized types ("mass production" owls). The fact is that the mushrooming volume of owls being produced to meet the needs of civil projects, building ships and booming commerce translated into less care in the engraving of the dies and the striking of the coins. Volume trumps quality. I am very happy when an expressive Athena is available at not too outrageous a price, by today's standards. Whether or not the full crest, or any crest is present really doesn't factor in when I assess these coins. Yes, a full crest is impressive, and if a coin is bright and "mint state" or "near mint state" I am impressed as are a great number of collectors eager to bid on these coins. But, such a coin is truly the exception in my collection. I've posted the three that I have. Instead I look at the modeling of the portraits on both sides. I like my Athena to be evocative and I like my owls to have appealing qualities. If one side of an owl meets such criteria I might very well buy it, budget permitting.
My comment about "Full Crest" was in the the context of "completeness" of the finished product. Within the past few years, there must have been a few hoards with several thousand pieces per hoard. A huge number of these owls were your typical very little if any crest present. In fact, I had no idea there were partial or full crest pieces available. A couple of years ago, some full crest pieces were made available. For me these were like Full Step Jefferson nickels, Full Band Mercury dimes or Full Head Std. Lib- erty quarters. Out of the thousands that are made available, you have a few nice ones.
