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Athenian Coins : Athenian Silver Tetradrachm in the New Style
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Athenian Silver Tetradrachm in the New Style - C.6108
Origin: City of Athens
Circa: 2
nd
Century BC
Dimensions:
1.25" (3.2cm) high
16.7Grams
Collection: Numismatics
Medium: Silver
$3,300.00
Location: United States
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Photo Gallery |
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Description |
Obverse, head of Athena Parthenos wearing
triple-
crested Athenian helmet ornamented with
Pegasos
and foreparts of horses; pellet border encircling;
reverse, T?/T??/F??, right; ?/??/??, left; Owl
standing on Amphora, centre; Nike in quadriga,
right; ??, in exergue; all within laurel-wreath.
The tetradrachm – a silver coin equivalent to four
drachmae – first came into circulation in Athens
in
510 BC, replacing the earlier “heraldic” type of
currency. The tetradrachm was to become the
most
authoritative coinage of Classical Greece and was
adopted by many other city-states. It would
remain
barely changed over the next three centuries.
By 2nd century BCE Athens’ fortunes had waned,
conquered first by Sparta and then Macedonia.
Shifts in the Socio-economic and political
landscape
give rise to a new-style of coinage, showing
Athena
wearing a crested helmet on the obverse and a
highly-stylized owl standing upon a prostrate
amphora on the reverse.
This issue, which was minted almost four
hundred
years after the first tetradrachms marks the
changes
to a very distinct iconography that would endure
until the Roman conquest.
- (C.6108)
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