Silver Tetradrachm of Athens

British Museum. Greek, around 480 BC. From Athens, Greece. The two designs on the Athenian coins both allude to the patronage of the city by the goddess Athena. On the obverse (front) of the coin is the head of the goddess herself, and on the reverse is the bird of Athena, the owl. These designs remained unchanged on Athenian coinage for over three hundred years, and the 'owls' of Athens became familiar coins throughout the Greek world. [Greece] [Coin Collecting]