Tetradrachm New style

Athens resumed large-scale silver coinage in the mid-second century BC with the so-called New Style tetradrachms, replacing the archaic "owl" type that had circulated largely unchanged for three centuries. The shift was partly practical: the new design incorporated an amphora symbol and magistrate names, allowing the Athenian assembly to track responsibility for each issue — a form of institutional accountability absent from the old coinage.

The 137/136 BC issue falls within a period when Athens operated under Roman oversight following the sack of Corinth in 146 BC, with the city navigating careful diplomatic positioning rather than genuine independence.