ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 16.82 g, 10h). New Style coinage. Theophra–, Sotas–, and Peison–, magistrates. Struck 130/29 BC. EF.

CNG Feature Auction 132
Lot: 296. Estimated: $ 1 000

Greek, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 2 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 16.82 g, 10h). New Style coinage. Theophra–, Sotas–, and Peison–, magistrates. Struck 130/29 BC. Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing, on amphora; magistrates’ names in fields; winged thunderbolt to left, Δ on amphora, ΣΦ below; all within wreath. Thompson 407c = BMC 427; HGC 4, 1602. Lightly toned, small scratch. EF.

From the Thomas Palmer Collection, purchased from Tom Cederlind, August 2006.

Around 165 BC, Athens introduced a new series of precious metal coinage. Colloquially called the “New Style Coinage” today, it represented a revolution in the coinage of Athens. Although it remained essentially an Athena/Owl type, this new coinage broke from the traditional, more archaic-style devices employed on the previous three centuries of Athenian coinage. The obverse now depicts the Athena Parthenos of Pheidias, wearing her triple-crested Attic helmet adorned on its visor with the foreparts of four or more horses, and a flying Pegasos on the bowl. On the reverse, the owl was now shown standing on a horizontal amphora, with an elaborate array of magistrates’ names, symbols, and other letters in the surrounding fields. The entirety of the reverse was enclosed within a large olive wreath. These new depictions were largely facilitated by the coins’ innovative flans that were far more broad, offering a larger canvas for the celator to fill. Unlike the previous two centuries, this coinage was produced on a large scale, as attested by surviving examples. This uptick is generally attributed to Athens’ recovery of the port of Delos in 166 BC. As with the fifth century issues, this New Style Coinage became an important and respected coinage in international trade, being found today at sites throughout the Mediterranean area, and was also imitated at a number of cities. In fact, the popularity of the New Style coinage likely strongly influenced the “stephanophoric” coinage of western Asia Minor, which likewise featured reverse types enclosed within a wreath. The series reached its apogee in the early first century BC, but went into steep decline following Sulla’s capture of Athens in the spring of 86 BC.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.

CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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