Athens New Style Tetradrachm 94/3 BC

[NewStyleKing]

Athens New Style Tetradrachm 94/3 BC

Obs : Athena Parthenos right in tri-form helmet
28 mm 16.41 gm Thompson issue 71
Thompson catalogue: Obs 1036: Rev NEW
Rev : ΑΘΕ ethnic
Owl standing on overturned panathenaic amphora
on which month mark A control AN/ ΔH below
2 magistrates : NIKOGENES KALLIMACHOS
RF symbol : Hermes [with Caduceus]
All surrounded by an olive wreath

This issue can either 2 or 3 magistrates, the symbol Hermes holding Caduceus ( missing here) can be missed out, removed from die on some issues,but a highly abbreviated 3rd magistrate then added. The 2nd control is overstruck, the undertype is AN, but the N is reversed! Nothing is known about the magistrates but a coin of the time of tension in Athens between pro-Roman and pro-Mithradatic supporters.

[Rand]

There have not been any news on the new style for long time. Glad to see them back.

[robinjojo]

Based on my very limited participation in auctions now, almost entirely with CNG, I haven't seen very many new style owls offered.  Roma would sometimes have a nice run of them, but that is becoming ancient history with their closure in May.  One the MA Shops and VCoins front, the same thing - very few new style owls appearing.  Those that appear are from the early to middle periods of minting, with the vast majority being from the latter.

Edited October 20, 2024 by robinjojo

[NewStyleKing]

Correct, NewStyles are not being found like they were 10 years ago. Hoard finds in the Balkans are dry! What seems to come up are collectors getting rid of their mis-fits! 

Thank goodness I started when I did in early 2010, when Lanz, particularly seemed to have hoard after hoard soon after!

There is one coin I will never get, the star between 2 crescents. CNG had the only example in modern times and I went $10000 on it but failed, so I made do with a chalkon. I have completed All of the Rome -pontic coins. The only things left are the post Sullan times and they are few and far between, with many singletons. I do miss Roma! Where have the coins they got gone to?

Edited October 21, 2024 by NewStyleKing

[Anaximander]

I've managed to obtain two new-style tetradrachms in the last 25 years. Both are earlier than your fine specimen, @NewStyleKing.  My experience is very similar to yours, @robinjojo. There are so few opportunities to pick up these New Style tetradrachms. I always thought I could find one 'later,' which turned out to be much harder to do.

 Greece. Attica. 134-133 BC. New Style AR Tetradrachm (16.73g, 26.6mm, 12h) of Athens. Head of Athena r. w/ crested Attic helmet w/ four horse heads above visor and Pegasos over earpiece. / Owl stdg r. on amphora, A-OE above. TIM-APXOY, NIKAΓ[O], ΣΩΣIΓ to r. (magistrates). Anchor & star to l., [Δ] on amphora, ME beneath. gVF. Bt. Louis diLauro, Coral Gables, 2000. HGC 4 #1602; Thompson 363f, 363g = Svoronos Monnaies, pl.50 #5 (same obv. die); HGC 4 #1602. cf. SNG Cop 3 (Attica-Aegina) #249 (drachm); CNG 118 #202 (E on amphora, same obv. die), EA 393 #69, Triton XIV #198.

 

 

And recently, I won this at auction, at five times the cost of the first. 

Greece. Attica. c. 165-142 BC. AR Tetradrachm (16.67ᵍᵐ 31ᵐᵐ 12ʰ)  Athens. New style coinage 108/7 BC. Helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right. / Owl standing right on amphora, head facing; in right field, Tyche standing left, extending hand and holding cornucopia; AΘE EΥMHΛOΣ KAΛΛIΦΩN ΔIOKΛ in fields, E on amphora, ME below.  VF. Magistrates Eumelos, Kalliphon, and Diokl...  CNG EA 566 #111. "Slight die wear."  Thompson 739b (same dies); HGC 4 #1602; SNG Cop. 3 (Attica-Aegina) #169. 

[robinjojo]

Nice examples!  I agree that there always has been a scarcity of these owls.  I began collecting the new style owls in the early 1990s, and they weren't cheap back then by any means. 

It seems, in decreasing order of availability, from greatest to least, the most available would, of course, be the standardized classical owls, followed by the intermediate of Pi-style owls, and the new style owls as the least available on a comparative basis.  Throw in all of the eastern imitation owls and you have quite a mix.

[NewStyleKing]

@robinjojo

It seems, in decreasing order of availability, from greatest to least, the most available would, of course, be the standardized classical owls, followed by the intermediate of Pi-style owls, and the new style owls as the least available on a comparative basis.  Throw in all of the eastern imitation owls and you have quite a mix.

 

No!  The ones just before the NewStyles. The "old styles" With symbols on! As from the Larissa hoard.(below). I have never seen or heard of one for sale.

 

Edited October 22, 2024 by NewStyleKing

[robinjojo]

Yes. there are some very rare late intermediate owls proceeding the New Style owls , but as a group the intermediate (Pi Style) owls as a group are generally available, but less so than the standardized classical owls of the 5th century BC.  Historically these intermediate or Pi Style owls do not draw collector interest compared to the classical owls.  They tend to be cruder and often struck on folded chunky flans, making them far less attractive.  I find them very interesting and try to purchase varieties of the Pi style.

That first coin to the left is a Quadridigité Pi Style owl, circa 286 - 262 BC, according to Joseph Sermarini, who wrote an article about this series.  As with other Pi Style owls the crude dies and strikes (and die wear) often make clearly identifying an owl as a Quadridigité type quite difficult.

But you are correct about these extremely rare owls that are a transition of sorts to the New Style design.

[NewStyleKing]

Fancy heating and hammering already small thick chunky coins into smaller and chunkier ugly flans and striking them again. I guess the economics of dead slaves vs firewood come into play, and yet soon enough large medallic flans become the rage across asia minor in the great transformation! These ancients eh, who could 2nd guess them!

[Bannerknight]

Are New Style tetradrachms really that scarce in the market? Classical Owls are quite common, but I have seen a few dozens New Owls at the auctions I follow in the past year. Although the prices of the best specimens are quite steep.

[robinjojo]

I guess this all relative.  New Style owls are much scarcer than the thousands of Classical owls entering the market, many from that gargantuan hoard of several years ago.  So a few dozen New Style owls pales to the number of Classical owls on any given day.  And, as noted, really choice New Style examples command a hefty premium.  Even a nice mid-grade coin can go for a healthy price.

Edited October 22, 2024 by robinjojo

[Bannerknight]

19 minutes ago, robinjojo said:

I guess this all relative.  New Style owls are much scarcer than the thousands of Classical owls entering the market, many from that gargantuan hoard of several years ago.  So a few dozen New Style owls pales to the number of Classical owls on any given day.  And, as noted, really choice New Style examples command a hefty premium.  Even a nice mid-grade coin can go for a healthy price.

I have developed an interest in New Style Owls, but not managed buy one yet, for the reasons you mention, having instead prioritized my Byzantine collection. But I am starting to closely follow the new owl market.

[Sulla80]

Here's a Himyarite "New Style" oddity with bust of Augustus that I picked up from NAC. 

Arabia, Himyarites, Siglos imitating Athenian new style tetradrachm circa 24 BC, AR 26 mm, 5.47 g.

Obv: Laureate head of Augustus r.; in l. field, n (South Arabian). All within olive wreath.

Rev: Owl on amphora between two monograms; in r. field, symbol of Almaqah. All within border of stylised amphorae.

Ref: BMC 35. CAF pl. III, 57-58. RPC 4994.

Notes: Old cabinet tone. Traces of overstriking and area of weakness on reverse, otherwise about extremely fine

Edited November 10, 2024 by Sulla80

[NewStyleKing]

Yes, I have never seen an explanation of why they would want to " copy" a NewStyle!  If the obverse is of Augustus ( or meant to copy a Roman emperor) , then it is quite possible that the  Athenian NewStyle has ceased to exist whilst the Arabs just carried on. I take it that the Athenian NewStyle was extinct c 42 BC.

 

[Sulla80]

4 hours ago, NewStyleKing said:

Yes, I have never seen an explanation of why they would want to " copy" a NewStyle!  If the obverse is of Augustus ( or meant to copy a Roman emperor) , then it is quite possible that the  Athenian NewStyle has ceased to exist whilst the Arabs just carried on. I take it that the Athenian NewStyle was extinct c 42 BC.

I think we can look to Barclay V. Head for the attribution to Augustus and the dating to 24BC - I think the explanation is largely: "it looks like Augustus to me".

My notes are here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/coins-of-arbia-felix-himyarite-kingdom-starter-kit

If anyone has the Munro-Hay book on Himyarite coinage from 2003 - I'd be interested to see if it has any other notes.

Edited November 10, 2024 by Sulla80

[Deinomenid]

@NewStyleKing I can across images of lots of New Styles in an early 18th century  book on Sicily and nearby islands I am reading. I know it's highly likely that these are all known, and there are definitely few "fantasy coins" amongst the Syracuse ones and some of the other Athenian ones look truly bizarre, just in case this helps any missing parts of the puzzle. I wouldn't have mentioned it were it not in a slightly obscure non-Athenian tome...

Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Siciliae" (1725) - Giovanni Giorgio Graevius

From the third volume -

 

 

 

[NewStyleKing]

Thank you, very interesting. Wonder where they are today? Not in my collection!

[Deinomenid]

On 10/21/2024 at 6:34 AM, NewStyleKing said:

NewStyles are not being found like they were 10 years ago

There's a most unusual number of  New Styles  listed in the new Leu auction - almost 40 of them. I have  no idea if it's a horde  or a collection but  it is WAY more than usually appear at once.

 

 

[NewStyleKing]

Thanks for that. @Deinomenid. I've had a look and the first 4 coins are from the Thompson early catalogue and quite possibly are a small hoard, then a single coin says it's from an Swiss collection, but the rest do look to be a hoard running down c 119 to c96 BC with gaps and repeats ending just before the really interesting times!