Attica, Athens, Tetradrachma, (ca. 454-404 B.C.), Athens; Av: Head of Athena to right, wearing helmet decorated with laurel leaves; Rw: In incusum square, owl standing to right, with head in front, left olive branch and crescent, right ΑΘΕ; Dewing 1591-1598, Kroll 8, Sear 2526, SNG Cop. 31; silver, 25.0 mm, 17.21 g; nicely preserved, centrally struck coin, mint luster.
For more than four hundred years, Athenian tetradrachms were a widely accepted means of payment, used in almost all Greek polities because they were trusted to have adequate bullion content. Today we find these tetradrachms in Syria, Iran and even Afghanistan, where they have wandered through trade. They were undoubtedly international money. For centuries, the Athenians did not significantly change the appearance of these coins - they did not want to put the market's earned trust to the test.
The development of trade necessitated the introduction into circulation of many fractions of the basic unit. Thus, in addition to the drachma, half-drachma, obols and parts of the obol were introduced. In 467 B.C. an occasional small series of large medal-sized pieces weighing ten drachmas was struck. The obverse of the decadrachma is presented in the same way as the obverse of the tetradrachma, but the reverse features an owl with outspread wings.
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