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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     77000334      [UNVERIFIED] Type:     Ancient Africa Region:     EGYPT, PHARONIC Issuer:     Uncertain Pharaoh Date Ruled:     Time of the 28th-30th dynasties, circa 400-350 BC Metal:     Silver Denomination:     Tetradrachm Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     BC Time of the 28th-30th dynasties, circa 400-350 Weight:     17.05 g Die Axis:     10 h Obverse Description:     Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl Reverse Legend:     ΑΘΕ Reverse Description:     Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind; all within incuse square Primary Reference:     Flament style X Reference2:     Van Alfen pl. 11 Photograph Credit:     Classical Numismatic Group Source:     http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=114757 Grade:     EF, light earthen dusting Notes:     Sale: Triton XI, Lot: 334 Exceptional preservation and metal. Prior to the introduction of Macedonian issues beginning in the late fourth century BC, Egypt relied upon the use of imitations of Athenian tetradrachms for its international transactions. Although its presence as a major power in the eastern Mediterranean extended over two millennia, Egypt had never struck its own currency, relying instead on payment-in-kind and specie payments. By the end of the sixth century BC, the presence of Greek traders drastically altered this arrangement. Beginning with the establishment of Naukratis in the Delta, Greek coin-types, along with a steady supply of silver, flowed into Lower Egypt. There some of this material was melted and re-struck into into more localized imitative types, which then circulated into Phoenicia and points eastward. One is the 1989 Syria Hoard, containing numerous examples of these imitative types, as well as examples from the final period of Egypt as a Persian satrapy. Although the Persian Empire already had a long and well-established monetary system, these imitative Athenian tetrdrachms circulated in areas in which they were already a recognized and accepted currency, allowing the satrapy of Egypt to continue its trade in those areas unimpeded.For a more detailed discussion of Athenian imitations in Egypt, see P. van Alfen, “Owls From the 1989 Syria Hoard,” AJN Second Series, 14 (2002), pp. 1-58.

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