Category Archives: Hobby

These posts promote the hobby of kings and provide the methods and means to advance coin collecting.

Buying Coins: “How’d I do?”

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Increasingly on social media, coin buyers display their recent purchases and ask, “How did I do?” If you ask this question, you probably should not be buying expensive coins. Then again, you can learn how you did by reading this article, which takes you step by step in the buying and bidding process.

For starters, if the coin is in a top-tier slab (PCGS, NGC, ANACS, CAC, ICG), you don’t need to ask that question. Just go to the cert of the holdering company, and you will see retail, wholesale and auction prices. See this article for details.

In the past, new collectors used to learn about coin value from brick-and-mortar shop owners who also belonged to the Professional Numismatist Guild. Now the number of coin shops have declined steadily due to high overhead (rent, security, insurance, inventory) and risk of robbery. Meanwhile coin magazine subscriptions plummeted. For instance, Coin World‘s readership declined from 33.4 million in 2015 to 21.5 million in 2019. Now the magazine measures its audience digitally, with some 65,000 collectors on its social media platforms and 40,000 on its marketplace page.

As a result, collectors prefer the convenience of buying online but often are misinformed by clickbait social media.

In the past, people had buyer’s remorse when they were hoodwinked. Now many collectors do not even realize they have been scammed.

Given these risks, how should they go about buying coins?

  1. Learn how to grade if buying raw or unholdered coins.
  2. Buy from reputable third-party graders, especially if you don’t know how to grade.
  3. Identify counterfeit coins masquerading in fake holders.
  4. Know common flaws that buyers often miss.
  5. Visit PCGS Photograde and compare your coin to grades listed there.
  6. Before you bid on or purchase a coin, visit PCGS CoinFacts to see both retail, wholesale and auction values.
  7. Only patronize online sellers who accept returns.

Let’s go through the above list with a coin being sold on eBay at this writing. Great Southern Coins is a reputable seller that also accepts returns:

This seller states that the coin is semi-prooflike and gem brilliant uncirculated. If you know how to grade, you might have a different opinion. It looks almost uncirculated or low mint state with flaws (scrapes, bag marks, rim dings and a pin scratch):

Now let’s go to Photograde and see what condition may match the raw coin above:

So we’re looking at an MS61 1879 Morgan. Now let’s consult PCGS CoinFacts for possible value:

Here we read about mintage and specifications:

Time to see retail and auction prices. An 1879 without flaws retails for $90 with 516 graded by PCGS at that level selling roughly at auction for about $70-100 with values seemingly rising over the years from about $50 in 2014.

But this 1879 from Great Southern Coins has flaws. What does one in a similar condition go for? CoinFacts again supplies the answer: $65.

Great Southern Coins ships inexpensively for $3.25 so I don’t have to worry about additional buyer’s fees and mailing. A good maximum bid for this coin would be $50.

If this coin were featured on HiBid or Live Auctioneers you would place a different maximum bid because sellers on those platforms often charge 15-25 percent buyer fees and $10-15 mailing. So if bidding here, your maximum would be $30 ($6 buyer fee at 20% and $14 mailing).

Here’s an example from a seller who already knows the value of the coin based on his starting $35 bid. But here you also pay $15 for shipping in addition to 15% buyer’s fee. So if you won the coin with a $35 bid, you would pay $5.25 plus $15 for a total: $55.25.

Now that you know the process, practice on eBay or HiBid/Live Auctioneers–not by bidding–but by following bidding and final sale and see if your estimate would have lost or won the coin. Do this repeatedly until you are confident in your purchasing skills.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on buying, selling and collecting at Proxiblog.org. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Native American Dollar Varieties

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Known by its distinctive golden surface and edge lettering, the Native American dollar, introduced in 2009, is a continuation of the Sacagawea dollar series, featuring her on the obverse and a different reverse design each year. There are several major varieties, featured here, and several weak/partial/missing edge and position varieties.

Let’s cover the latter first:

  • Position A: The edge lettering is upside down when the obverse (Sacagawea’s portrait side) is facing up.
  • Position B: The edge lettering is right-side up when the obverse is facing up. 

Here’s an illustration:

Edge lettering is applied after the coin is struck with both positions considered normal, typically without any rarity or substantial value. However, weak/partial, missing and double edge lettering are highly desirable.

Here are illustrations:

Here are main years you want to search for along with values for gem MS65:

  • 2009-P Native American – Pos. B Partial, $200
  • 2009-P Native American – Pos. B Weak, $75
  • 2009 Native American Missing Edge Lettering, $35
  • 2010-P Native American Missing Edge Lettering, $75
  • 2011-P Dbld Edge Let., Overlap, Pos. A, $85
  • 2012-P Native American, Pos. A Weak Lettering, $90
  • 2012-P Native American, Pos. B Weak Lettering, $40
  • 2013-P Native American, Pos. B Dbld Edge Overlap, $350

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

How to Sell Coins in 7 Steps

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You may have inherited a coin collection or decided to sell some or all of your coins. It is essential to know how to sell your coins; otherwise, you could be low-balled or scammed. Follow these 7 steps, and you reduce the odds of being taken advantage of. And be sure to visit Proxiblog.org, one of the top coin sites on the internet. Subscribe so you get our latest posts each week.

To view a comprehensive article about selling, see: https://proxiblog.org/2024/12/02/how-to-sell-coins/

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

1880-CC Morgan Varieties

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The 1880-CC Morgan Dollars have several varieties that occurred to save the Mint money. Dies for these coins were made at the Philadelphia mint. The Carson City Mint, like other mints at the time, frequently reused dies by repolishing and re-engraving them. This process led to overdates and different reverses.

This is a basic article without naming other VAM varieties (cataloging different die markers). Visit here if you want to learn about VAMs.

1878 and 79 Reverses

Let’s start with the two reverses, compliments PCGS CoinFacts, so that we can understand the role they play in the varieties.

Now let’s proceed to the varieties and overdates.

1880-CC Regular Strike

The 1880-CC, regular strike, has the rounded breast of 1879:

1880-CC Rev. 78 (Regular Strike)

The first variety, then, is the 1880-CC Rev. 78:

Now that we know how to distinguish which reverse, we move on them to the various overdates.

1880-CC “8 over Low 7” and “8 over High 7”

Below find markers for the 1880-CC 8 over Low 7 (Regular Strike [aka Reverse of 79]) and 8 over High 7 (Regular Strike).

If the coin is worn, you might not be able to identify what you have without a microscope, and even then you might not be able to see the low/high 7. Fortunately, many 1880-CC varieties are uncirculated from bags released by the Mint as well as GSA dollars (more on those later).

Here is a blow-up so you can tell:

Two distinctions. The 8 over Low 7 has a remnant of the 7 in the middle of the top loop of the 8 and what looks like a die chip with some space between it and the bottom of the 8; the 8 over High 7 has the remnant close to the top of the 8 and the remnant close and almost touching the bottom of the 8.

1880-CC 8/7 Rev. 78

As you now might have guessed, another variety is the 1880-CC 8 over 7 with the 78 reverse. Look for the remnant of the 7 in the top loop of the 8:

Here’s the obverse and reverse of the above coin to give you an idea of how faint the remnant is and why you might not see it in a worn version. (There are other die markers to identify which variety you have but are omitted from this article, focusing on the basics.)

1880/79-CC $1 Reverse of 1878 (Regular Strike)

Yet another variety. How did this one happen?

Dies originally intended for 1879 dated coins were repurposed for 1880 production by overpunching the date with “1880,” resulting in the visible “80/79” overdate. This practice of repurposing dies helped conserve resources at the time. The reverse die used was the “Reverse of 1878,” characterized by a flat eagle breast and parallel top arrow feather.

Values

Values for each of the varieties differ so you might want to focus on the rarer ones, especially if you have acquired GSA Dollars, which do not distinguish between the various varieties in their holders:

Here is a table with each variety’s retail worth at MS63 from CoinFacts:

VARIETY VALUE AT MS63

1880-CC Regular Strike$875
1880-CC Rev. of 78$1450
1880-CC 8 over High 7$950
1880-CC 8 over Low 7$900
1880-CC 8 over 7 Rev. 78$1350
1880/79-CC Rev. of 78$1450

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Online Bidding Basics

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By Michael Bugeja

Every now and then we need to monitor the major online coin portals and share bidding basics.

Some general rules:

  1. Never bid on raw coins unless you are an expert grader, trust the seller, can view excellent photos, and can return the coin if unsatisfied.
  2. Never bid on coins in bottom-tier slabs unless you spot a mistake like a rare error or variation that isn’t listed on the label.
  3. Do not bid on raw coins on Live Auctioneers, HiBid or Proxibid unless (a) you are an expert grader, (b) have read the terms of service, and (c) can afford the buyer’s fee and shipping.
  4. If bidding on eBay, consider not wasting time on “Buy It Now” offers unless you need the coin or currency for your collection. (Note: If you find yourself in this situation on eBay, you may want to simply “watch” the coin [hit the “watch” tab] until the seller relists it and finally comes to his or her senses, dropping the price or going to “Make Offer” status.) You can always contact the seller and ask for a lower buy price.

Let’s focus now on eBay. Here’s why: eBay is a global commerce leader with a vast user base and a massive overall gross merchandise volume (GMV), including a substantial market for coins and collectibles, which drives a much higher sales volume than other venues. Live Auctioneers, HiBid and Proxibid are small in comparison, especially when it comes to coin sales. eBay has 134 million active buyers worldwide. Coin and collectible buyers account for $10 billion in annual sales.

We’ll begin with an example of “Buy It Now” on eBay concerning a common Morgan Dollar, 1878, 7 Tail Feathers, Reverse of 78. By the look of the coin, I give it a generous MS-63 grade (assuming there are no hidden flaws the photo doesn’t reveal). That means the retail price should be around $145. Instead, the seller is asking for the ridiculous price of $1,995.

If you know how to grade (I mean, really know how to grade) and want a coin or currency note for your collection, always check auction values rather than retail values. You can do that online via PCGS CoinFacts or Paper Money Values, which are free. Find the low and high auction prices for the coin or note and bid the low first.

You can bid as you like, of course, but my general rule for “Buy It Now / Make Offer” is to bid only on slabbed coins by top holdering companies (PCGS, NGC, ANACS, CAC and ICG).

You can score good values on eBay “Make Offer” lots if you know how to negotiate. Go through the same process as above, knowing retail and auction prices, and start with a low auction bid if you really want the coin or note. I only do this with lots that I need for my collection. To pay for them, I retrieve coins from my bank box so that I can afford the pricier items as illustrated here. For instance, I sold most of my Lincoln Wheat cents slabbed by PCGS to afford these two desired lots.

The first was a 1901 Buffalo note that is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire at lower than retail rates. Just as in coins with top holdering companies, I bid only on PCGS and PMG notes. Here is the lot that caught my interest, because it had good color and came with a “Make Offer” designation:

You’ll note that eBay states this lot sold for $1,199. It did NOT. That was the asking price. I bid $890, slightly below retail of $900, and wrote that I could buy the note in question at the same grade from my hometown coin shop, Chester’s Coins and Gifts, for $950. (And I usually get a discount because, well, I know the shop owner!) I also noted that all those other PMG 25 Buffalos were not selling at $950 but were being relisted.

I won the lot:

I had been looking for three years for a “round” $1 California fractional gold PCGS coin in an old green PCGS holder, as the “round” rather than “octagonal” $1 coins are difficult to find. Finally one appeared. But the asking price was way above retail:

Here’s the $2,000 retail price from PCGS at the time of purchase, 2017, for the coin in question:

In my offer of $1,625, I told the seller that the latest auction price was around $1,600. “Seems fair enough,” the seller stated, and I won the coin.

Once again, eBay’s record states the coin sold for the initial asking price. As in the 1901 Buffalo note, it decidedly did not.

If you like posts like this, subscribe to Proxiblog so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Etsy’s Ripoff Replicas

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Etsy, a major seller of coins, has house rules that prohibit fakes, and yet is one of the major distributors of counterfeits and replicas. That, in itself, is not the problem. Scam sellers on Facebook coin sites and online auctions purchase these replicas and then try to pass them off as authentic, hoping to bait new hobbyists who do not know any better.

Here’s an example:

Proxiblog catalogued keydate replicas and is sharing them here. Bookmark the URL and share this post whenever you see someone trying to pass off these items as genuine.

Proxiblog identifies these replicas every day across Facebook coin groups–to the extent that he regularly warns against sellers and scammers who claim these are genuine. Here’s a screenshot of a recent example:

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack Riley, Jack D. Young and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Machine v. Hub Doubling

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With the emphasis now on error coins, thanks in part to coin microscope sales and hyperbolic coin values on social media, it is important to know the difference between machine and hub doubling.

This is a tutorial.

Let’s start with a photo showing a machined v. hub doubled 1969-S cent. Both look significant. Only one is. Can you tell the difference? (We’ll return to these coins momentarily.)

Machine doubling, the above left photo, adds no or little value to coins. It happens when a die at the Mint begins to deteriorate and so may bounce during a strike, creating a flat shelf-like image. The date, device, lettering and mintmark can appear to be doubled.

Hub doubling, valuable, indicates a flaw in the die itself. Unlike machine doubling, which happens during a strike, someone at the Mint made an etching mistake. Mintmarks before 1989 were punched into the die; but this is distinct from hub doubling. We call these deviations “repunched mintmarks” (RPM). Hub doubling produces a raised, rounded impression that follows the flow of the date, lettering or device.

Let’s illustrate this again more closely with the 1969-S DDO cent, one of the most illusive coins, worth a bundle. It is ultra rare with PCGS holdering only 30+ coins. You can read about that here.

Clickbait social media says you can find one in pocket change. Oh, and you’ll need to buy a coin microscope for that. Fat chance.

New collectors who routinely consult social media for any number of topics often believe these hyped posts. Odds are you will never find a 1969-S DDO in rolls or pocket change. But you can find dozens of machined doubled ones on eBay and elsewhere masquerading as an authentic 1969-S DDO with sellers asking hundreds and thousands for a faux coin:

Let’s return to the images mentioned earlier and show distinctions between machine doubled and authentic doubled dies:

Machine Doubling, Left; Hub Doubling, Right

The machine doubled cent has a flat, shelf-like doubling. The doubling does not mirror the individual numbers but seem pushed to the right. The hub doubled cent has raised rounded digits that follow the contours of the numbers.

In addition to the ability to distinguish between machine and hub doubling, veteran collectors know how to identify replicas flooding the market from China. You can buy these fake ultra rarities on venues like Etsy for less than $30.

These replicas are purchased by scammers and then posted on eBay as the real deal. Now you have to compare devices with genuine coins. To do that, google a genuine one in a PCGS holder and compare doubled devices.

The obvious difference is the word “Liberty.” Take a closer look:

The doubling on the replica is mushy and below the original letters of “Liberty”; the doubling on the authentic coin is above “Liberty” with each letter mirroring the original and shifted to the right.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Two Types of Collectors

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What kind of collector are you? As in most dichotomies, there are two types: the pastime collector and the hobby collector. Each has distinct traits.

There’s nothing wrong with being one or the other. But it helps to know the motivations if you comment on their posts or respond to their questions on social media.

PASTIME COLLECTOR

10 Traits of the Pastime Collector

  • Main motivation: value of coin.
  • Got into the hobby through social media.
  • Uses Coin Apps, eBay, YouTube for values.
  • Examines pocket change.
  • Goes to banks for roll boxes.
  • Searches for ultra rarities.
  • Needs to do numismatic research.
  • Uses a coin microscope for errors.
  • Asks others to identify their finds.
  • Seeks affirmation, not information.

Here are some recent Facebook posts from pastime collectors:

DON’T KNOW COINS; DOUBLE DIE … OR SOMETHING. MAKE AN OFFER!

I FOUND A UNIQUE ERROR! WHAT IS IT, WHAT’S IT WORTH?

IT’S RARE BECAUSE I SAID IT WAS!

HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON BUT TELL ME WORTH!

IGNORE THE WORD “COPY”; IT’S GENUINE CC!

Now that we have met the pastime collector, let’s view their counterpart.

HOBBYIST COLLECTOR

10 Traits of the Hobbyist Collector

  • Main motivation: ownership.
  • Entered the hobby through relatives, friends.
  • Uses Redbook, reads coin magazines.
  • Examines credit card, bank balances.
  • Goes to auctions, coin shows, clubs.
  • Specializes in a few denominations.
  • Learns about die markers and counterfeits.
  • Uses a naked eye or loupe for errors.
  • Helps others identify their finds.
  • Seeks information, not affirmation.

Here are some Facebook posts from hobby collectors.

I FINALLY OWN THE KING OF KINGS!

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!

BEHOLD THE HISTORY!

ALL IN THE FAMILY!

NOT SOMETHING YOU FIND IN CHANGE!

Now that you know the two types of collectors, you can decide which one you want to be. If you have time to spare, look at spare change. If you have spare funds, own coins.

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Get-rich Quick with Coins?

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Coin collecting has endured many threats. The U.S. Mint banned private ownership of gold in 1933 and later removed mintmarks from coins between 1965 and 1967, believing collectors were hoarding coins. China starting flooding the market with counterfeits. But now the biggest threat is social media, promising huge rewards by finding ultra rarities in pocket change.

Consider this ludicrous post:

Let’s dispense with that get-rich prospect for now so we can focus on some of the daily rubbish veteran hobbyists see across Facebook coin groups.

For that, I am going to need machine intelligence because human intelligence has failed.

Iowa State Virtual Realty Lab.

I work at an institution of science and technology. In addition to being a collector, I am a distinguished professor whose research expertise includes artificial intelligence. I have access to top machine intelligence. I asked about odds of finding ultra rarities–copper war cents, 1982-D Small Date 3.1 grams, 1969-S DDO–and created the chart below.

You will have better luck winning the Power Ball lottery.

Clickbaiters make their money off of newbie ignorance. Let that sink in. The more you visit their sites, the more gullible they can make you, believing their outrageous lies, the more money they make. And they make it by deceit, exaggeration and manipulation.

To understand the effectiveness of that ruse, what in the world would prompt a person to think the coin below is an error?

Before social media, hobbyists would look at this coin and become upset because it no longer fits in a pop machine. But today’s so-called “collector” sees the same coin and thinks it left the U.S. Mint that way and could be worth thousands.

Worse, hopelessly damaged coins like this are being offered for crazy amounts, fueling the ruse. This is an example from Etsy:

What is the impact of all this?

Collectors are drawn to the hobby because it teaches history, culture, art, science and metallurgy. Facebook newbies have no desire to learn the hobby. They have been trained by Google and now AI to get answers on demand without doing any reading or study.

That impulse is the antithesis of numismatics.

In our time, a few decades ago, the intent was to collect, not to enrich, but to learn; so when we asked questions, we did so knowing proper numismatic terminology. There was never an intense interest in error coins because it was an unpopular facet of collecting. But those few who embraced the genre knew what they were looking for, researching errors that third party grading companies actually would holder. They also knew that a mere few error coins required microscope magnification to see. All they needed was knowledge and a loupe.

Daily we see on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, eBay, etc., ridiculous posts like this that constitute the majority of photos and ads across coin groups.

As a result, we get questions and photos like these:

I am triggered by the constant parade of damaged pocket change. I try to think of ways to inform newbies who post such coins:

Many coin group moderators remind their members to be civil–a good rule, actually; but veteran hobbyists also have a breaking point. The vast majority of photos across FB groups feature some of the ugliest coins in circulation, an affront to our love of the hobby.

Some examples:

Gone is the beauty of coin collecting as well as learning about art and culture. The above coins say something about the current culture of the United States: We’re bored. We need a pastime. Instead of Wordle, let’s look for error coins and get rich trying!

In a word, these newbies want affirmation, not information. The best we can do is offer fact-based opinions–whether civil or not–to enlighten or startle these error-hunters out of their malaise.

Sometimes I lose patience and become snarky, as in this exchange:

Typically I end articles with recommendations to address the topic or problem of the post. I can’t do that here. I am flummoxed.

So you tell us: What can be done?

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

The Incredible Athens Owl

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The Athenian owl is considered one of the greatest coins, not only because of its beauty, but because of its elegant design—head of Athena on obverse, symbolic image on reverse, and identifying inscription—making it the prototype for centuries of coins worldwide.

Every collector should save to collect one.

There are several types of Athenian owls, with the first appearing circa 512 BCE. The owl graced Athenian coinage for 450 years. The earlier and latter designs, though collectible, are a far cry from the classical artistic standard flourishing between 440-404 BCE (and discussed in this article).

The tetradrachm (four drachmae) typically weighs 17 grams of a thick silver planchet.

Here is the obverse of Athena, the Olympian goddess of wisdom and war.

Here is the Athenian owl with olive spray (representing olive oil and peace—a gift from Athena) with crescent moon and inscription “ΑΘΕ,” an abbreviation of ΑΘΕΝΑΙΟΝ, “The Athenians.”

As you can see, the above coin has a test cut to make sure it is not a fourrée or silver-plated base metal counterfeit from ancient times.

Silver from the great mines at Laurian, about 50 kilometers from Athens, helped the city-state produce a great navy and powerful military.

In 431 BCE, the Peloponnesian War broke out between Sparta and Athens. Sparta defeated Athens in 404 BCE, marking the end of that iconic coin type. Athenian owl coins were still produced on smaller planchets in the late classical period. A thinner and wider version appeared circa 165 BCE. Hobbyists find these less desirable than the classical type featured above.

To learn more specifics about the Athenian owl tetradrachm, check out an excellent video by American Numismatic Society chief curator Peter van Alfen. The Numismatic Guarantee Corporation also has an informative post about the changes in styles of the Athenian owl in each of the main periods.

Here are reasons you should consider purchasing an Athenian Owl coin.

  • They are plentiful in all conditions because they were mass produced between 440-404 BCE with hoards found in 1967 and 2018, flooding the market with excellent specimens.
  • Debate continues among collectors about whether ancient coins should or should not be holdered; however, in this case, you might want to purchase a raw Athenian owl to feel its heavy silver in your palm. You’ll be transported to the Parthenon, the iconic temple at the Acropolis, Greece.
  • Given its beauty, desirability and plentiful status, the Athenian owl is remarkably affordable. Recent Heritage archives show several being won with bids under $1000, as in this Choice AU example with excellent strike and surface.
  • The Athens Tetradrachm is ranked 10th in Harlan Beck’s beautiful must-have glossy-papered 100 Greatest Ancient Coins (second edition) by Whitman Publishing.
  • The coin’s iconic design remains a numismatic prototype, giving rise to today’s heads and tails obverse-reverse description.
  • President Teddy Roosevelt is said to have carried an Athenian owl coin in his pocket to bring him luck. It inspired a new era of American coinage as he and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens marveled at its beauty.
  • The Athenian owl represents the birthplace of democracy as inspired in 507 BCE by lawgiver Cleisthenes who called his reforms “demokratia” (“rule by the people”).

Also keep in mind if you are in the market for an owl tetradrachm that it is also one of the most counterfeited and replicated of ancient coins. Unless you are an ancient expert, do not bid on or purchase this tetradrachm unless holdered by PCGS, NGC or ANACS.

Here are four fake examples in a quick search of eBay:

If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.