Lot 3457

Description

Attica, Athens, (c.420 B.C.), silver tetradrachm, (17.04 grams), obv. head of Athena to right wearing ivy crested helmet, eye in profile, rev. owl standing to right, head facing, in erect posture, olive twig and crescent behind, to right, **AQE*, all in incuse square, (S.2526, BMC 62, Kraay ACGC 199, Sv.Pl.14, 1-30). Large flan test cut, otherwise good fine.

The issue of 420-404 B.C. may well have continued into the 4th Century with the later issues of a broader, somewhat less archaic aspect. With the appearance of plated emergency issues in Athens in 406-404 B.C., the metal content of the Athenian Tetradrachm in general became suspect. Increasingly, Athenian coins were subjected to deep counterstamps and heavy banker's test cuts to insure that the coins were solid silver rather than copper issues with a silver plating. The large number of these counterstamped and tested coins testify to the extent to which Athenian Tetradrachms served as a medium of international trade as well as the level of suspicion provoked by the appearance of officially sanctioned, plated token coinage. This testing probably took place in the Middle East region where these coins also circulated.