Question about athenian emergency issue tetradrachm

[The Pontian]

Is this an athenian emergency issue or just a fouree tetradrachm?

 

[JAZ Numismatics]

It could be one of the emergency coins. They were issued in 406 and demonetized in 394 - more than enough time for the plating to wear off in ordinary circulation. And the style is certainly official enough.

Edited November 1, 2024 by JAZ Numismatics

[robinjojo]

It certainly is a bronze core.  The style is more in line with an eastern imitation, possibly Egyptian or Levant (which covers a lot of real estate).

Here's my plated Athenian owl for comparison, purchased from CNG many years ago.

Athens, plated tetradrachm, circa 406-404 BC.

Sear 2535

13.80 grams

The style of this coin is consistent with the owls that Athens was minting in the waning years of the Peloponnesian War.  Of note is the reduced incuse reverse and the opening eye on the obverse.  The bronze core is readily visible, especially on the reverse through breaks in the silver plating.

Edited November 1, 2024 by robinjojo

[lim]

There's no silver inside. Is it a fake from that time? Merchants in those centuries were checking coins. Notches were made. To identify the drag metal.

[JAZ Numismatics]

5 hours ago, lim said:

There's no silver inside. Is it a fake from that time? Merchants in those centuries were checking coins. Notches were made. To identify the drag metal.

 

The emergency issues were official "fakes" if you will. Here's a synopsis from Google's AI...

 

Athens issued a number of emergency coins during the Peloponnesian War, including gold staters and silver-plated coins. 

• Emergency staters of Athens

  There are four known gold staters from the emergency coinage. The coins features a helmeted head of Athena on the obverse and the inscription "ATHE" on the reverse. 
• Fourrées

  Plated coins with a precious metal plating over a base metal core. The discovery of a hoard of plated tetradrachms and drachms in 1902 at the Athenian port city of Piraeus supports the official status of these coins. A decree from 394 B.C. made the fourrées worthless. 

The city-state of Athens faced a number of emergencies during the Peloponnesian War, including:

• Dwindling treasury: The treasury and emergency reserve of 1,000 talents dwindled. 
• Disrupted silver mines: The nearby silver mines were disrupted. 
• Plague: The Athenian plague occurred in 430-26 B.C. and killed tens of thousands of people. The plague spread quickly due to overcrowded wartime conditions in the city. 
• Leadership turnover: Many of the respected political figures from the nobility were replaced by people of lower class. 

Edited November 2, 2024 by JAZ Numismatics

[NewStyleKing]

The only gold issues of the NewStyle were the ones with the Star between 2 Crescents of 87/6 BC. King Mithradates Vl  Eupator of Pontus and Athenian tyrant, Aristion. So when things are bad they melt down the treasured statues of Athena!  This specimen is in the BM.

Edited November 2, 2024 by NewStyleKing

[lim]

Thanks, I didn't know about this. There is little written on Athens coins.

[robinjojo]

3 hours ago, lim said:

Thanks, I didn't know about this. There is little written on Athens coins.

Here's a very good introduction online:

https://rg.ancients.info/owls/

There are additional topic links at the bottom of the page.

[lim]

Do you happen to have an article on countermarks? And I also saw a table, all Athenian owls are divided by year.

[JAZ Numismatics]

22 minutes ago, lim said:

Do you happen to have an article on countermarks? And I also saw a table, all Athenian owls are divided by year.

Do you mean countermarks on Athenian Owls? There's a famous book on Roman provincial countermarks by Christopher Howgego. Free download at Acadamia.com...

https://www.academia.edu/4228725/Greek_Imperial_Countermarks_Studies_in_the_Provincial_Coinage_of_the_Roman_Empire

That only covers Roman provincial countermarks, but there's a good chapter on the general practice of countermarking in the ancient world.

I don't know if anyone's written a similar book on Greek countermarks.

[lim]

I mean the markings on Athenian owls and what they mean.

[lim]

for example

[JAZ Numismatics]

55 minutes ago, lim said:

I mean the markings on Athenian owls and what they mean.

I think they're mostly bankers' marks, meaning they were tested and stamped as real by some commercial agent. I don't think they have any significance beyond that.

[robinjojo]

I don't know of an article or reference that specifically discusses countermarks on Athenian owls.  I do have a couple of tables from an article about the imitative owls from the 1989 Syrian hoard.

Countermarks can range from bankers' countermarks to countermarks that might be a type of validation for a coin to circulate in a jurisdiction.  

In terms of identifying individual countermarks, sometimes extensive  research is needed.  The countermark also needs to be legible. Sometimes countermarks are applied over each other, creating a muddled situation.  

Keeping in mind that I am by no means an expert when it comes to ancient languages or symbols, here are a few countermarks on owls that I've been able to identify, often with the help of other collectors. 

Attica, Athens, owl 440-404 BC, with a Paleo-Hebrew 'Taw' cm obverse.

17.18g Roma 

 

Attica, Athens classical owl with Paleo-Hebrew waw counterstamp obverse.

17.3 grams

 

Attica, Athens, classical owl, after 440 BC. Phoenician countermark W (waw) on obverse (sideways).

17.0 grams

 

Attica, Athens owl Pi-stlye III, 353-340 BC, with a silphium countermark obverse.