Attica, Athens.   Tetradrachm, civic mint circa 510, AR 17.34 g. Helmeted head of Athena r. Rev. AΘΕ Owl standing r., with closed wings, head facing; behind, olive sprig. All within incuse square. Asyut 179. Seltman pl. XV, A214 (for obverse) and P275 (for reverse). Svoronos pl. 6, 7 (for obverse) and 11 (for reverse). Cf. Gemini sale XIII, 2017, 41.
Very rare. Struck in high relief on a very large flan and of magnificent Archaic
style. Light iridescent tone, a minor area of weakness on reverse,
otherwise extremely fine / about extremely fine

The Athenian tetradrachm featuring the head of Athena on the obverse and her owl on the reverse is easily one of the most well-recognized and influential coins of the ancient Greek world. Although it is perhaps most closely associated with the age of Athenian radical democracy and imperialism in the fifth century BC, the type was actually introduced already under the late Peisistratid tyrants of Athens. The present coin, however, is thought to have been struck around 510 BC, when the Athenians stood on the threshold of establishing their celebrated democratic constitution which ultimately impacted the course of Western history.
A few years earlier, it had become clear that rule by tyrants was losing its popularity in Athens when Hipparchus, the brother of the tyrant Hippias, was famously murdered by Harmodius and Aristogeiton in c. 514 BC. This event is said to have turned Hippias into a harsh ruler who executed his political opponents and sought the support of Persia to crush dissent in the city. The brutality of Hippias fomented civic unrest at Athens, which the powerful Alcmeonid clan harnessed in an attempt to expel Hippias from the city. In 510 BC, the Athenians called for the support of Sparta and their fight against the tyrant. This was answered by the arrival of Cleomenes I at the head of Spartan army that captured the children of Hippias and forced the tyrant to seek safety on the Athenian acropolis. In order to have his children restored to him, Hippias was compelled to leave the city and never return. Although Hippias made an abortive attempt to sweep back to power in 490 BC, the archaic Athenian tyrants were finished. Shortly after his expulsion and a brief oligarchic interlude, Athens accepted the constitution devised by Cleisthenes that established rule by democracy.
The wonderful archaic obverse head and reverse owl obviously refer to Athena as the patron goddess of Athens, but the meaning of the olive spray on the reverse—a standard feature of all archaic and classical Athenian owl types—requires slightly more explanation. This detail refers to the Athenian tradition that Poseidon and Athena had competed with one another on the acropolis for the right to be patron of the city. Poseidon struck a rock with his trident and a spring burst forth while Athena caused an olive tree to grow up where she touched the ground with her spear. Due to the great utility of the olive, the goddess was proclaimed the winner and subsequently became the protector of Athens. As late as the second century AD, the olive tree and the marks of Poseidon’s trident were shown to tourists on the acropolis.