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Silver Owl Coinage of Athens, Screenshot 2026-04-27 at 13.17.50,…
Silver Owl Coinage of Athens
Laureion
there were rich deposits of silver ore in southeast Attica, in Laureion
from the late 6th century through most of the 4th century BC, Laureion was the largest supplier of silver in the central and eastern Mediterranean world
this silver was disseminated in the form of the Athenian owl coins
but Laureion silver was also exported to other Greek states for the minting of their own coinages - Laureion silver found in coinages of Aegina, Corinth, Samos
even though Aegina and Corinth were hostile with Athens, silver was traded as a commodity independent of political considerations
Early Coins (Wappenmunzen)
Athens was one of the first Greek cities to use silver coinage
the city's earliest coins employed a mixture of silver that had come from various sources
they had a simple design, pictorial on one side and a square punch mark on the other
they were intended for local use, so a badge of the city was not necessary
The Beginning of the Owl
everything changed in the teens of the sixth century with the discovery of the "Third Contact"
a new, larger denomination was introduced - the 17.2g tetradrachm
briefly had a state badge in the form of a gorgon's head
Before settling on the owl design. Helmeted head of Athena on the obverse, and on the reverse her owl and an olive sprig, with ATHE
the reason for this change is debated: could be in the wake of Kleisthenic reforms, or could be economically motivated to promote immediate recognition of Attic coins in foreign markets. We cannot pin down exact date.
The scale of the archaic Owl
they travelled widely in international trade
Athenian tetradrachms of the 490s and 480s BC were struck from more than 325 obverse dies, making roughly 20,000 coins
there was feverish minting at the end of this period - shown by the appearance of the latest archaic tetradrachms with crude die-cutting
suspected that 'blacksmiths' were forced into service when the Athenians ran out of experienced die-cutters to mint as much silver as possible for funding the fleet in prep for the Persian invasion of 480 BC
Early Classical Coinage (478 to mid 450s)
after the devastation of the Persians on Athens, Athens continued to mint the Athena/owl type, but with a bit more refinement
the brow of Athena's helmet was embellished with a row of olive leaves
in the 460s, Athens minted didrachms in addition to the usual tetradrachms
also in the 460s, Athens minted a large 43.5g decadrachm, with a frontal owl on the reverse. convenient for exporting large quantities of metal
The "Standardised" Coinage (c. 455-405 BC)
shortly before the middle of the fifth century the production of the owl entered its most voluminous phase by far
a shift in some details of the reverse: the alpha is elevated so that its upper diagonal touches the side of the owl's head
the owl's heads are positioned vertically
on obverses the palmette on the helmet becomes enlarged. The front or inner corner of the eye of Athena is left open
the "standardised" coinage began in the mid 450s, and was immense production
why did this happen?
the increase may have followed upon the removal to Athens in 454 of the Delian League treasury
or it could be that Athens increased influence in Thrace, and took possession of the silver there
or it could be that domestic silver supply increased - an intensified mining process
Laureion in dispair
full scale operations in the Athenian silver industry came to an end in 413 with the Spartans' construction of a permanent fort at Dekeleia
but at the mint within the walls of Athens the striking of silver coins continued
by 407 little silver was left, so between then and defeat in 404, Athens coined the gold stored as dedications on the Acropolis
The potency of the Owl
the owl was the city's most valuable item of export
Aristophanes' Frogs of 405 BC boasts the owl was "valued by Greeks and barbarians everywhere"
there was a supposed obsession with money in fifth-century Athens, according to Plato, who said "pericles made the Athenians "money-grubbers"
Persian satraps Tissaphernes and Pharnabazos
Thucydides and Xenophon describe how these satraps paid the rowers of the Spartan fleet in last bit of PP war
they give sums in Attic drachmas and obols, suggesting Athenian currency had become the common money for accounting and pay in Aegean naval affairs
Plutarch
in his Life of Lysander, indicates that in the last year of the conflict the war chest of the Spartan commander Lysander was supplied with large quantities of Athenian owls
Imitations
Persian rulers had become so used to using Athenian coinage by the end of the fifth century that they minted imitation owl tetradrachms
the first
"signed" with a crowned head of the persian king at the feet of the owl
the second
a hybrid coin with the head of the Persian king or satrap replacing the head of Athena, and the three letter abbreviation BAE for basileus
decadrachm (early 460s)
owl imitations from later 4th century produced in modern Yemen - RESEARCH
