Attica, Athens.   Tetradrachm circa 465, AR 17.18 g. Head of Athena r., wearing crested Attic helmet with three olive leaves over visor and spiral palmette on bowl. Rev. ΑΘΕ Owl, with closed wings, standing r. with head facing; in upper l. field, olive twig with two leaves and one berry; all within incuse square. Warren 812 (this obverse die). Seltman 423 and pl. XIX (this obverse die). Svoronos pl. 8, 19 (this obverse die). Boston 1063 (this obverse die). Starr group II C.
Struck in very high relief and of superb late Archaic style. Exceptionally well-centred
and complete. Light iridescent tone and extremely fine

Ex Leu 38, 1986, 83 and NFA 25, 1990, 105 sales. From the Harald Salvesen collection.
The style of the ”transitional” Athenian tetradrachms from the late 470s through the early 450s B.C. – Starr’s groups II through V – are considered the high mark of Athenian coinage for all but those who have a particular favouritism for the occasional masterpiece of the Archaic period. The coin offered here fits firmly within that chronological frame. Starr group II C, to which this coin belongs, is the subgroup to which the Athenian decadrachms are assigned. Starr observed what he considered to be a discernible impact on the regular coinage due to the introduction of the decadrachm: ”...it is almost as if the Athenian mint had obtained new die-cutters, or those already at work were liberated by the challenge of the decadrachms. The point of departure was the pattern already established, but the designers felt free to mould it in strikingly different ways. For the tetradrachms the results were generally felicitous...”.