English
日本語English中文ItalianoFrançaisDeutschEspañol
Sign in Admissions
NOMISMA SCHOLA
Read the textbooks TextbooksRoutesColumnFilms & narration
Go deeper by course Courses
Verify with the coins CoinsGlossarySourcesPractice
Think with the patterns Patterns
About the school Start hereFacultyContactThe discipline
Admissions Sign in
Language
日本語English中文ItalianoFrançaisDeutschEspañol

Early Owl Tetradrachm

c. 500-480 BC　・　silver　・　5th century BC　・　Athens

Early Owl Tetradrachm（obverse）
ArchaiOptix / CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）

A tetradrachm from c. 500-480 BC, weighing 17.14 grams. Based on hoard evidence, the design of the head of Athena and the owl is thought to have begun around 510 BC. However, theories are divided as to whether this was linked to the end of the tyranny or was an economic decision under the last tyrant, Hippias, and there is no definitive conclusion. This particular piece does not yet feature the crescent moon that appears on coinage struck after the Battle of Salamis. It represents an early stage in the life of the owl coinage. From the collection of the Staatliche Münzsammlung, Munich.