Greece
Attica, Athens, Tetradrachm 440-420 BC
Obverse: head of Athena in the helmet facing right
Reverse: owl standing to the right, with its head turned straight, in an upright position, with an olive branch and a crescent moon on the back, on the right side ΑΘΕ
Diameter 25 mm, weight 16.95 g
The Athenian owls were the first widely used international coins. In places where they were used commercially, some peoples began to mint their own versions, usually 100% imitating them, but sometimes not in every detail. Among the peoples who imitated the owls in the 5th and 4th centuries BC were Persians, Bactras, Phoenicians, Philistines, Judahans, Samarians, Egyptians, and Arabs. The production of owl imitations reached its peak in the 4th century BC, when the production of the official Athenian owls declined after the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Peoples who used them still felt the need to have them. The production of imitative owls declined after the arrival of Alexander the Great and the spread of his coins. The only exception was South Arabia, where the Sabeans and Himyarites imitated New Style owls even in the 1st century BCE, and the obverse evolved from the female form of Athena to the male form.
