Tetradrachms Views
Many surviving tetradrachms were minted by the polis of Athens from around the middle of the 5th century BC onwards; the popular coin was widely used in transactions throughout the ancient Grecian world, including in cities politically unfriendly to Athens.[2] Many tetradrachms are still surviving today, as they were used mainly traded between ships, tied together in groups of ten tetradrachms each. Athens had silver mines in state ownership, which provided the bullion. The Athenian tetradrachm was stamped with the head of Athena on the obverse, and on the reverse the image of an owl, the iconographic symbol of the Athenian polis, with a sprig of olive and a crescent for the moon. The design was kept essentially unchanged for over two centuries, by which time it had become stylistically archaic. To differentiate their currency from the rival coinage of Aegina, Athens minted its tetradrachm based on the Attic standard of 4.3 grams per drachma.
In ancient Greece, when a coin was first spent, a test-cut was often made into the coin to verify that it was solid silver and not a silver-washed forgery. Fortunately, this doesn't detract much from the beauty of these coins. Athenian silver tetradrachms are thought to be one of the most beautiful and collectible coins ever made. These are extraordinary, especially for this price, and are sure to sell out fast!
This collection is assembled to display the progression of silver tetradrachms and their fractions, produced in the East, during the period of Roman influence and occupation. The primary work referenced for this collection is the in-depth study of Michel and Karin Prieur, "A type corpus of the Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and their Fractions from 57 BC to AD 253", published by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. in 2000. The Prieur research site can be found here and is in French.
Unlike bronze Alexander coinage used in the marketplaces of Macedonia, tetradrachms were international, imperial coins that were used in state transactions, to pay mercenaries and other soldiers, and as tribute to keep Celtic invaders at bay. A tetradrachm, worth four drachms, was probably the equivalent of about four day's wages of a common laborer, or about $200 in today's money. Ironically, this is about the cost of an worn Alexander tet today, though they can be had at anywhere from $100 for beat-up specimens in About Fine condition to $3,000 and up for an eye-popping specimen in Fleur-de-Coin condition (near perfect strike and condition).
Tetradrachms Images
