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Drachm
| Issuer | Athens |
|---|---|
| Year | 440 BC |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.25 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A standing owl faces the viewer frontally, with large round eyes rendered in high relief and feathers carefully incised across the body and wings. To the upper left of the owl, an olive sprig with a single leaf is depicted, and a crescent moon appears to the right. The ethnic inscription ΑΘΕ (an abbreviation of ΑΘΕΝΑΙΩΝ, 'of the Athenians') is placed vertically to the right of the owl. The design is set within a plain incuse square field, a hallmark of early Athenian silver coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (-440) |
| Additional information |
Athens struck drachms on the "old style" weight standard throughout the fifth century, but the Laurion silver mines — seized back from Spartan-occupied territory and operating at peak output around 440 BC — gave the city an almost embarrassing surplus of raw material. That abundance is why Athenian coinage of this period circulated from Egypt to the Black Sea without serious competition. Kroll 10b is distinguished from adjacent varieties by its die-cutting style, placing it within a tightly dated production cluster that numismatists associate with the early phase of Periclean building expenditure on the Acropolis.