Nomos 35

ATTICA. Athens. Circa 515-510 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 23 mm, 16.91 g, 3 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing an Attic helmet with a crest supposed by a line of pellets. Rev. AΘE Owl standing to right, head facing; below to right, olive spray with five leaves; all within an incuse square. Cf. Seltman 328 and pl. XV, (A214/P273) (olive spray with three leaves) = Svoronos, Trésor, pl. 6, 7. Extremely rare. A spectacular piece, very well-struck and well-centered on a full flan; of very fine style and attractively toned. Somewhat porous, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From a European private collection, acquired in 1998.

This extraordinary piece was struck at the very beginning of the Owl Coinage of Athens, at a time when the design was not completely standardized. Instead of having the olive spray inn the upper left corner of the reverse, and putting the ethnic in the right field, which was the standard arrangement until the end of Athens's old style coinage, here we have it vice-versa. In some ways it is more aesthetically successful: the owl has been moved to the right, thus providing a large space for the ethnic, and the olive sprig is now on the ground by the owl's feet. This design is only known from one other archaic Athenian tetradrachm, the piece in Berlin that bears an olive sprig with three leaves only (that obverse die is linked to two standard reverses), and must have been rejected. This coin is, thus, a relic of the early decision process behind the design of the Owl tetradrachms of Athens.