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 Replies: 13 / Views: 3,241 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6381 Posts |
Been looking at these coins for years and finally picked one up at our local coin show. Apparently quite a few high-grade examples are being offered for sale but the prices don't seem to have come down much. What do you think about this one?   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
That's a beauty! Love to see it toned up in a couple years.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Up there with the most famous of ancient Greek coins.
They are not particularly rare, but they are very popular among collectors, and the fakers have known that for very many decades.
I have a lower grade example myself.
This one looks OK to me, but they should all be professionally verified. Mine was.
I admit: I am not skilled enough to do that.
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
1168 Posts |
What an absolutely beautiful coin. Congratulations on the acquisition.  |
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
Congratulations, beautiful coin. That's one coin I have not been able to get to get.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
Very nice! I really like those. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
Great coin. It is one on my coin bucket list. Did you buy it raw? I hope it is genuine. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1315 Posts |
Beautiful coin. Great piece of history.
Congrats.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Beautiful! Yes, a hoard of these classical owls was discovered a few years ago, and whoever bought it was wise enough to feed it into the market *very* slowly so as to not crash the price for them. The price has come down significantly; pieces like yours tend to hammer for around $400-500, whereas a decade ago they would have hammered for $800-1,000. Despite the recent influx, I believe that Athens tets overall are still more rare than, say, a 1914-D Wheat penny, and demand will always exceed supply, so nothing short of a cataclysmic collapse of society or else the death of coin collecting as a hobby will ever bring coins like yours below the "several hundred dollars" price point. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Attica Owls are very tactile.
They really like an honest chunk of money, more so than a modern machine made coin. Thick dumpy flan helps, along with the density of silver, at 10.5 gms/cc.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
Very nice specimen! I windowshop them but I can never quite do it....
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7934 Posts |
Just ... WOW!
Fantastic detail, and the flan size/shape just seems to accenuate it.
Thanks for sharing
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
Nice birdie. Welcome to the club.
Sel is right: you've got to hold them.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6381 Posts |
I haven't seen any presentable examples for much less than $1000; mine cost $1150 which I thought was a relatively good deal. Bought it from an experienced dealer of ancients so hopefully it's genuine. I'm confident he will give me a refund if it were found to be a fake.
There is a big premium charged for examples with "full" helmet crest. I decided my coin should have a generally round flan, with centered strike on both sides, complete Athena profile, and sharp detail on the owl. This example meets those criteria and I'm very pleased with my purchase.
Thanks for all your comments!
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Replies: 13 / Views: 3,241 |
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Posted 10/27/2020 9:22 pm
