500. Athens. 406/405 BC. AR Fourré Tetradrachm (13.71 gm). Emergency Issue.
Helmeted  head of  Athena  right /  Owl  standing right;  olive branch  and
crescent above.  Starr pl. XXIII,  12. Good VF, plating  mostly intact, red
encrustation. Rare  and historically  important relic of the  final days of
the Peloponnesian War. ($500)

With the mines at Laurion lost and their treasury depleted by the ruinous
cost of the war with Sparta, the Athenians resorted to an emergency issue
of plated silver tetradrachms and drachms. These were officially withdrawn
from circulation after the government was reestablished in 403/402.

CNG Mail bid sale #58, 18 Sept 2001, lot 500.
 
 Lot sold for $1300.


Used by permission of CNG, www.historicalcoins.com