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Nice Athens Owl

AuNuggetsAuNuggets Posts: 95 ✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
Ran across one of the nicest Athens Owl tetradrachms tonight that I have seen on eBay in quite some time. Was very hard to resist..........image I have had a love affair with these coins for much of my collecting lifetime. They just exude what classic period ancient numismatics are really all about. This one looks to have good metal with very little strike splitting as usually seen, good centering on the owl side, and good overall detail.

image

Comments

  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have loved those coins since I was a kid and read about them in a magazine. I bought one about 6 years ago and finally got around to fulfilling the dream of owning one. Ancients are one of those real darkside parts of my collection - I do collect Syracuse by type, and Black Sea anything.
    Tir nam beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach ~ Saorstat Albanaich a nis!
  • DorkGirlDorkGirl Posts: 9,994 ✭✭✭
    It's so nice it looks fake. Love it!
    Becky
  • HyperionHyperion Posts: 7,440 ✭✭✭


    << <i>It's so nice it looks fake. Love it! >>



    that was my thought.. I LOVE the design but would never ever touch 'em not slabed cause I dont know what I'm doin! (or spelling!)
    My Ebay (None)
  • FilthyBrokeFilthyBroke Posts: 3,518 ✭


    << <i>

    << <i>It's so nice it looks fake. Love it! >>



    that was my thought.. I LOVE the design but would never ever touch 'em not slabed cause I dont know what I'm doin! (or spelling!) >>




    Well, the picture properties show that it's Mike Vospers, I didn't know he sold on Ebay though.
  • AuNuggetsAuNuggets Posts: 95 ✭
    Yep, it's coming through Mike Vosper. He's one of the major ancients dealers in the UK, so not much worry of it being anything but absolutely genuine. He will always make it right if not. His eBay user name is vivienne5592. Everything I see from the photos tells me it is very real....... and very nice. I've handled several hundred of these coins in the past 4 decades, and it takes an extremely good fake to pass. Stylistic detail in these is something you pick up with experience, hard to explain in words. With these you take into consideration the quality of the metal, presence or lack of striking splits, porosity or corrosion, centering, surfaces, grafiti, bankers marks, and test cuts. Looking forward to seeing it in hand. Seems a shame though that there is so much dependency on slabbing in the hobby these days, to the point of passing up super nice coins at great price levels. So many focus on the plastic and not on the coin, but that is exactly the addiction that the slabbing services intended from day one.......... hook 'em and crook 'em. Just my opinion and experience anyway.



  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Yep, it's coming through Mike Vosper. He's one of the major ancients dealers in the UK, so not much worry of it being anything but absolutely genuine. He will always make it right if not. His eBay user name is vivienne5592. >>



    Actually the userid is of his better half.

    Sometime have a look at his website, www.vosper4coins.co.uk. Great people to deal with.
    Tir nam beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach ~ Saorstat Albanaich a nis!
  • AuNuggetsAuNuggets Posts: 95 ✭


    << <i>

    Actually the userid is of his better half. >>



    Yep. I think Viv gives Mike the left-overs. LOL But she sure knows what works.
  • FilthyBrokeFilthyBroke Posts: 3,518 ✭


    << <i>His eBay user name is vivienne5592. >>



    Ah, I've seen that seller quite often on Ebay, but didn't make the connection. I've seen Mike Vosper's stuff on his site, and on MAShops, and I would trust him.

    That's a beauty for sure, and a really popular coin with collectors.
  • AuNuggetsAuNuggets Posts: 95 ✭
    Just noticed this is what we use to call the "banana moon" style. LOL Nice thing about classic Greek is that it gets you out of the modern cookie-cutter world of the same old coins in a million different slabs. There is just something about holding one of these in your hand, and knowing the history being made in the world at the time they were minted.

    I was at Books-a-Million a couple of weeks ago, looking through the numismatic area, and saw a large table-top sized book on Biblical Coinage that had some very nice photos of everything from early Greek to late Roman, and thought to myself how much more enjoyable collecting use to be when we actually held the coins in our hands instead of behind plastic shields, spending hours on end on cold winter nights with a good light and magnifying glass just looking at the minute detail of what was in our collections. Seems anymore it is about "the flip" or how much this or that is "worth". There are more kinds of "value" than just monetary....... Sometimes the pure enjoyment is worth the price of the admission ticket.
  • FilthyBrokeFilthyBroke Posts: 3,518 ✭




    << <i> Seems anymore it is about "the flip" or how much this or that is "worth". >>




    That's a great point! And that's the way I felt when I crossed over to this side. The variety of designs over here is astounding, and the historical connections that these coins have are strong.

    I couldn't see myself limiting my collection when my interests in history and art include a great deal of different eras and locales.
  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭
    Lovely owl, undoubtedly real and an interesting and very historical series.

    thought to myself how much more enjoyable collecting use to be when we actually held the coins in our hands instead of behind plastic shields,

    I've been musing myself about this and the oceans of essentially NCLT commems that seem to populate the world today. I just can't seem to get too excited about what it says on the plastic, so long as the details are all there. Its why I keep returning my focus to earlier papal, especially medals, a few of the roman series and US nationals.
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • AuNuggetsAuNuggets Posts: 95 ✭


    << <i>

    << <i> Seems anymore it is about "the flip" or how much this or that is "worth". >>




    That's a great point! And that's the way I felt when I crossed over to this side. The variety of designs over here is astounding, and the historical connections that these coins have are strong.

    I couldn't see myself limiting my collection when my interests in history and art include a great deal of different eras and locales. >>



    We apparently think alot alike. You've been at this awhile haven't you ? image The way I see it, if you limit yourself in your hobbies, it's like quitting school after first grade. There is so much more out there to see, study, and explore.
  • bronzematbronzemat Posts: 2,663 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Would love to own one down the road. Beautiful.
  • FilthyBrokeFilthyBroke Posts: 3,518 ✭


    << <i>We apparently think alot alike. You've been at this awhile haven't you ? image The way I see it, if you limit yourself in your hobbies, it's like quitting school after first grade. There is so much more out there to see, study, and explore. >>




    I've really only been collecting about five os six years, but have learned tons form the members here. I collected ancients for a little while, and haven't lost the thrill for them.
    The owl tetradracm is one of my favorites, even though I haven't yet owned one. The turtle staters are cool, too. That's another one that's on my wish list.
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