Greek Tetradrachm, Athens

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Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Tetradrachm, Athens
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Bentham.
Artist/Maker
Datec. 460 B.C.E.
MediumSilver
DimensionsDiameter: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm)
Credit LineTransfer from Hamilton College Archives, Burke Library. Gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine, Class of 1874
Object numberS2018.1.1
On view
DescriptionThis silver tetradrachm was minted in Athens, Greece. Given their mass production from c. 465 B.C.E to 404 B.C.E.,Tetradrachms of this classical type are some of the most commonly recovered ancient coins. Its obverse depicts Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, wearing a crested Attic helmet decorated with olive leaves and a palmette, facing towards the right. On its reverse is the Athenian owl facing right with the letters ΑΘΕ, a Greek abbreviation meaning "of the Athenians." The Athenian Owl, which symbolized the wisdom and knowledge of Athena, is joined on the reverse by an olive branch and a crescent moon. This coin is a part of the Paine Coin Collection. This teaching collection of 32 Greek and Roman coins was formed by John Alsop Paine (1840 – 1912), Class of 1859, who was an archaeologist with the Palestine Exploration Society and a Curator in the Department of Casts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1889 until 1906. The collection came to the college through John Alsop Paine’s grandson, Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853 – 1948), Class of 1874.
Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance 2018: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by transfer from College Archives, Burke Library;
?: Hamilton College, by gift of Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948);
?: Nathaniel Emmons Paine (1853-1948), presumably by inheritance or gift from his grandfather, John Alsop Paine (1840-1912);
?: John Alsop Paine (1840-1912), by excavation.
Inscribed ΑΘΕ ("of the Athenians") on reverse
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Stater, Anactorium
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 350-300 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.2
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Greek Tetradrachm, Syracuse
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 490 B.C.E. - 461 B.C.E.
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Object number: S2018.1.10
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Date: 390 B.C.E. - 350 B.C.E.
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Object number: S2018.1.6
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Greek Didrachmon, Velia
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 400 B.C.E. - 265 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.7
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Tetradrachm, Syracuse
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 317 B.C.E. - 310 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
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Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
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Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.4
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Denarius, Tiberius
Unknown artist, Roman (Ancient)
Date: 14 B.C.E. - 37 C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.25
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Stater, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, Egypt
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 204 B.C.E. - 180 B.C.E.
Medium: Bronze
Object number: S2018.1.13
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College. Photo by John Be…
Greek Stater, Syracuse
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: c. 275 B.C.E. - 215 B.C.E.
Medium: Bronze
Object number: S2018.1.14
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Greek Tetradrachm, Alexander the Great, Macedonia
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 336 B.C.E. - 323 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.9
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Greek Tetradrachm, Leontini
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 500-466 B.C.E.
Medium: Silver
Object number: S2018.1.5
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Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
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Medium: Silver
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