Greek Tetradrachm Found At The Thrift

[Metro Retro]

Hi All -- I purchased this piece at a thrift shop and did some research (appears to have been minted 440 Athens? Would that be correct?).

Although I know that authenticating is difficult with a pic, I'm hoping that it is genuine, since the former owner had it mounted in an especially made 14K frame.

I would appreciate anyone's experience with these coins and the best place for authentication (coin shop?). Thanks.

 

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[Generic_Lad]

It does appear to be a Tetradrachm from Athens, there's nothing that jumps out to me as it being a fake, especially since many of these genuine coins are used in Jewellery.

A coin shop might be a good place to start, but most US coin dealers know next to nothing about ancient coins.

Athenian Owls

Is a great resource when dealing with Athenian owls, yours looks to be a classic style one, and in pretty good shape. Assuming that there is little damage from when it was mounted (meaning, no solder marks and no deep gouges from the prongs) it would retail for a couple hundred dollars, perhaps a bit more if it can be determined to be a more rare variety, or perhaps a bit less if it has damage on it from where it was set.

 

[Metro Retro]

Thank you so much for that information Generic_Lad! That is an excellent site and I'm going to enjoy reading it thoroughly. The owl on the back of the coin is intact, although there is a small circulation indentation to the right of it, so this information is good to know.

I was curious if a Coin Shop would be the best place for these kinds of coins. I'll continue with research and thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[Thorne]

That thing is awesome. Did you know right away what it was? What's est. Value

 

[Metro Retro]

Thank you Thorne. I knew it was a coin, but didn't know what kind (Greek? Roman?) until flipping it to the back. I didn't buy it since I had other jewelry that day, but after doing some research (the websites claim 1,000 to 2,000+), I couldn't get it out of my head and went back after two days -- almost losing it to another dealer (he had it in his hand when I arrived), lol.

Thank you for your interest.

 

[Silver Searcher]

It looks real to me two nice find... The thousand dollar bill of its time, Athenian tetradrachms circulated throughout the ancient world. The sculptor Phideus who carved the statues in the Parthenon was paid one tetradrachm every two days. If this represented the wages of a skilled craftsman, the tetradrachm was indeed valuable in its day.

SS

 

[Metro Retro]

Thank you Silver Searcher! Wow -- so Phideus the sculptor was paid a tetradrachm every two days? I never imagined that a salary could be so high in ancient times -- fascinating (now I'll have to do some more reading up, since you've peaked my interest further, lol).

I thought of selling the gold frame for scrap and keeping the coin -- and then recently I wore the piece, and I can't help wanting to keep it as is. I feel so conflicted, lol. Thank you again for the additional info.