Athens Classical Period Tetradrachm, 440-404 B.C., NGC Choice XF

Description: Greek Classical Period, Attica-Athenian Tetradrachm, 440-404 B.C., NGC authenticated / graded / encapsulated as Choice Extra Fine. This coin represents a well-known and studied era of Eurasian history: the Classical Period of ancient Greece, the time of city-states, experiments with democracy, colonization in the Mediterranean, and learning in the home cities, exemplified by Socrates himself running his university in Athens of the Attica municipality, the minting location of these tetradrachms. The obverse depicts the goddess Athena, namesake of Athens, in these large silver coins of 4 drachmae, or 4 drachms, or 4 drachmas, in these peak 40 years of the Greek classical times. The diecutters certainly changed over so many years and different mints all over Alexander's former huge empire, but the obverse always features Athena, and the reverse the city symbol and abbreviation. The reverse shows Athens' "totem animal," the owl, the Greek letters which in our own alphabet would be "A TH E" - for Athens. NGC encapsulated this particular coin with the reverse showing in front, as a variation to give you choice. Note that here for the owl and Athena's bust on the obverse all made it onto the coin, which is why NGC gave it a "max" 5/5 for surface quality. Notice the serious die rotation of 150 degrees or so - but remember that these coins here minted by hammering, anyway. Note also the thick, silver planchets these Greek coins were minted from, for centuries before coins became thinner. Once the silver was processed from the nearby mines of Laurion, they were ready for minting into these coins. This Attica-Athens series coin is heavy and thick with silver, so it is encapsulated in one of NGC's extra-thick "slabs." We welcome your consideration to acquire this as a prominent addition to your coin or artifact collection.

Price: 1119 USD

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

End Time: 2024-05-17T20:34:43.000Z

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