Silver Greek Dekadrachm of Athenian Owl, Athens, Attica, goddess of wisdom Athena, Ancient Greece, Solid Silver Decadrachm Coin

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Replica Coin of
Silver Greek Dekadrachm of Athenian Owl, Athens, Attica, goddess of wisdom Athena, Ancient Greece, Solid Silver Decadrachm Coin

Obv.: Head of Athena r., wearing crested helmet, earring and necklace; bowl ornamented with spiral and three olive leaves.
Rev.: A-Θ-E Owl standing facing, with spread wings; in upper field l., olive-twig with two leaves and berry. The whole within incuse square.

Weight: ~ 41.6 gram
Diameter: ~ 36 mm

Athenian coins, bearing the helmeted head of Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse, became extremely popular throughout the ancient Greek world. Their success was due in part to quality of the silver used, from the Athenian mines at Laurion, and to Athens' mil­itary and political supremacy throughout much of the 5th century BC. The coins, known as « owls », were widely used in the 5th century and were copied by other regions, such as Egypt and southern Italy.
The motifs on the coins are dir­ectly related to Athens: Athena, goddess of both warfare and wisdom, was the pro­tector of the city, while the owl on the reverse is one of the attributes of Athena - the goddess was said to have the eyes of an owl due to her ability to see what is obscure (wisdom), as the owl can see in the dark.
Among the Greek offerings, the single highlight is undoubtedly the Athenian silver decadrachm, an immense piece weighing more than 40 grams struck circa 469 BC in honor of a Greek naval victory over the Persians. The decadrachm, which depicts a helmeted head of Athena in sculptural high relief backed with the famous owl of Athens, its wings proudly spread, is among the most celebrated numismatic rarities in history.

The present coin represents a splendid example of this magnificent ancient work of art. It exhibits clear flow lines, very sharp detail junctures, and a crispness often lacking in such large module ancient coins. Additionally, the aesthetic quality of the reverse is exceptional, an extremely powerful design with a well defined and expressive owl in full glory.
The historical context of the Athenian dekadrachms, as well as concomitant tetradrachms and didrachms of the same class, has been the matter of extended debate. Much of the early confusion stems from a passage in Herodotos, who said that Athens paid ten drachms to each of its citizens for surpluses from the Laurion mines (7.144.1). Although this passage appeared to provide easy historical evidence for the dekadrachm issue, not every scholar was convinced. It was Ernest Beulé who first raised the chronological question of the issue, and from whom all subsequent research stemmed. Taken in context, the passage in Herodotos would place such an issue shortly after the victory at Marathon in 490 BC, a date that was accepted for the dekadrachm issue by prominent early numismatists, Babelon (Traité II, col. 769-770) and Head (HN, pp. 370-371), but which subsequent scholarship has shown to be far too early. Although Gardner retained the 490 BC date of issue in keeping with Babelon (A History of Ancient Coinage, 700-300 BC, p. 162), he added to the discussion by recognizing that the Athenian dekadrachms were contemporary with those of Syracuse, which he identified with the Demareteia mentioned in the ancient sources and dated to the immediate period following the battle of Himera in 480 BC. Seltman, in his major work on the pre-Persian coinage of Athens, rejected Babelon’s conclusions. Yet, he also failed to put credence in the views of Gardner and subsequently placed the issue far too early, in the later 480s BC. Almost immediately, this view came under fire. Robinson saw Salamis as the occasion for issue (NC [1924], pp. 338-340), and Regling, in his revised edition of Sallet’s Die antiken Münzen, viewed the combined victories of Salamis and Plataiai as the occasion. It was Kraay (NC [1956], p. 55; ACGC, pp. 66-68) who, paying attention to the evidence of the hoards, noted that Seltman’s chronology was far too early; yet, he failed to convince his critics. Starr, whose own study of Athenian coinage also relied on the evidence of the hoards, confirmed some of what Kraay had argued, and suggested that the occasion for the issue of the dekadrachms was the battle near the river Eurymedon (circa 469/5 BC). The subsequent discovery of the Asyut Hoard (IGCH 1644) in 1968/9 and the Elmalı Hoard (CH VIII, 48) in 1984, confirmed a mid-460s BC date.
Various interpretations of the dekadrachms’ purpose have also been proposed. Although Fischer-Bossert suggests that the size of the issue indicates an economic, rather that ceremonial purpose, Head, much of whose work had formed the basis of dekadrachm scholarship, thought they were special, ceremonial issues struck at various times for “the personal gratification of Tyrants or Kings”, and were not part of the actual currency. As seen above, Starr’s survey of the Athenian coinage, and his confirmation of Kraay’s earlier conclusions, rejected this earlier conception. It seems clear that such an exceptional and compact issue must have served some special function. Recent scholars have focused on two key historical events during this period that could have produced sizable quantities of silver for this series: the battle of the Eurymedon River in 467 BC, where the resulting captured Persian booty was enormous and was attested to have been distributed (Plutarch, Vit. Cim. 13.6-8), and the capture of Thasos and its mines in 463/2 BC, where the plunder is assumed to have been substantial (Plutarch, op. cit. 14.2).
The dekadrachms stand apart from the typical Athenian coinage not only by their massive size, but the transformation of the reverse type from an owl in profile to one facing the viewer. One cannot fail to notice the power in such a portrayal, which clearly is a representation of the growing Athenian military might that produced the victory over the Persians at the Eurymedon River and the later capture of the bountiful Thasian mines.

The dekadrachm (decadrachm) was an ancient Greek silver coin worth 10 drachms. Because of its large denomination, the decadrachm is thought by many to have been primarily commemorative. Thus, a high quality of artistry is reflected in the design of the decadrachm.
The images on early Greek coins give us a lot of information about Ancient Greek life and culture . For example images of sacred and important buildings and temples, show us what their buildings looked like thousands of years ago. Coins were not just money, but propaganda or a means of communicating civic pride. Coins are valuable, durable and pass through many hands. Without newspapers or other mass media, they were an ideal way of spreading a political message.

Experience the glory of ancient Greece with our hand-crafted Greek Dekadrachm replica — a museum-quality coin inspired by classical artistry and historic legacy. Each piece is hand-struck in solid silver, not cast, using techniques rooted in the traditions of ancient Greek coin-makers.
Whether you're a collector, historian, or admirer of Hellenic culture, this Dekadrachm replica is more than a reproduction — it is a connection to the ideals, mythology, and craftsmanship of the classical world. Display it as a striking artifact, gift it to a fellow enthusiast, or hold it as a timeless symbol of ancient Greece.
Through traditional metalwork and AI-guided research, we honor and preserve the legacy of ancient civilizations — bringing history to life, one coin at a time.

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