Athenian Owl Tetradrachm Mint State
The Athenian Owl tetradrachm is arguably the most popular and recognized ancient coin. It represented about a week’s pay for ancient Greek soldiers. It is said that President Teddy Roosevelt carried an Athenian Owl as a lucky piece and that it inspired him to redesign US coinage.
Owls were produced in the Archaic style beginning late in the sixth century BCE (Before the Common Era) and were minted in some form or fashion for most of the next 450 years. The key features are a depiction of Athena (patron goddess of the city-state of Athens) on the obverse and an owl (the species of which is sometimes identified as a Little Owl or Minerva Owl) on the reverse. The wise yet warlike Athena sports an Attic helmet with horsehair plume; the owl is joined by an olive branch and the legend “alpha, theta, epsilon” (AΘE, a Greek abbreviation meaning “of the Athenians”). Legend says Athena brought the olive tree as her gift to Athens, in order to best Poseidon in winning Zeus’ favor.