Lovely fractional bullion, anyone interested in a bulk buy PM. Condition: Uncirculated Material: .999 Fine Silver Weight: 1/2 Troy Ounce Type: Silver Bullion Manufacture: The Lydian Mint, U.S.A. Year: 2009 The Athenian Owl is modeled after the ancient Greek coin and is a limited edition of 5000 coins or 2500 ounces. Athenian Owls are considered to be the most historically influential coins as they were the first widely used coins in international exchange. As such, the Classical Owl tetradrachm is the most recognized ancient coin and were used by noted individuals such as Pythagoras, Democritus, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes. The old-style tetradrachm is famous for its portrayal of Athena, with the almond shaped eye, archaic smile as well as for the charming owl reverse produced around 500 BC. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse a crescent moon was added. During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War. The ancient slang names for the coins of Athens were "owls" and "girls" (in Greek). "Owls" were so popular as a central currency of the ancient world that the design remained essentially unchanged and somewhat archaic long after other cities began to produce coins of a more refined artistic style. "Owls" are still very popular many people consider the Athenian owl to be "the" ancient coin--the most important, the most beautiful, the most historic, the one to have if you could have but one. Throughout antiquity, Athena and her companion owl served Athens as city symbol and primary coin type. With a few exceptions, Athenian silver coins show a head of the goddess facing right on the obverse and an owl on the reverse. What made the Athenian silver so popular and long lasting was its status as the definition of good money. The man on the street anywhere in the Greek world knew that he could trust the "owl" to contain full weight of the best silver. Athens was the strongest economic force in the Greek world. Their mines provided the Athenians with tons of fine silver for coin production.
Tell me more about pricing. With spot down, now might be a good time to pick up some fractional coins. I have some 1/2 oz Walking Liberties but feel I need more fractionals to balance my stack.