Athenian Tetradrachm And Illyria Drachme. Originality And Price?

500 euros for both!

I was recently in the market for an Athena tetradrachm. They are plentiful in very nice grades. 500 Euros seems low for this coin in this condition but I think it is for good reason. Athena's nose is cut off. The scarcest and most desirable of these are the ones that shows the Athena portrait in full as well as the full crest of the helmet. This coin exhibits neither. Most examples that I have seen show a full portrait but a partial crest. The problem is the silver slug that was struck tended to be too small for the design. If the slug was flatter to begin with, then the coin was larger in diameter and could accommodate the full Athena design. In addition, the reverse owl seems to be missing detail in the center.

The question is what is your goal. To obtain a finer example with all elements of the design visible, or to obtain an artifact from antiquity at a more reasonable price. You have to think ahead to what is likely to make you happy. Hope this helps.

500 Euros is ok for the two. But you're at the low end of the market and these are common coins, so you have a lot of choice. The prices go up exponentially for better examples, but you should be able to pick what you want to compromise. You might be able to get an owl with better detail, or an Athena with a nose. But you'd have to get nearer EUR1000 to get one with both of those, unless it has some other problem (test cuts being a very common one).

It might even be worth only getting one coin, but upgrade it a little.